De Facto
by DarkHorseBlueSky
Summary: Blue Zircon wakes up on death row. (there is a character tag for squash but there is STILL no character tag for blue zircon. this fandom is rich with dramatic irony.)
1. Chapter 1

_"De facto. Latin. As used in law, this phrase is used to characterize an officer, a government, a past action, or a state of affairs that must be accepted for all practical purposes, but is illegal or illegitimate…_

 _"In this sense it is the contrary of_ de jure _, which means rightful, legitimate, just, or constitutional."_

* * *

"...the axles of the bubble belt...off-centered. Recalibrate them and report...labs. 2F5L-5XL, 2F5L-5XZ, you are assigned...the main boiler room."

When Zircon reformed, the first thing she noticed were the orders, dissected by a heavy, rhythmic pounding. The voice was an agate. The pounding was likely machinery. Zircon had landed on her hands and knees, the slick floors like ice on her palms and through the fabric of her pantsuit. She shook her head, sat back, and looked up.

The place was cold and sterile white. Wherever she had reformed, she had been dropped onto an open expanse of floor, close to an inactive control panel, several neat piles of equipment, and a row of barrels against a wall. Far above her was a domed crystalline ceiling, displaying the shining pink skies of Homeworld. Between her and the sky was a web. A web of glittering glass walkways, conveyor belts, and horrendous, gleaming machines...machines that, one by one, devoured gems in bubbles. Paired with the last thing she could remember — her own epiphany, Yellow Diamond's hand, and unadulterated fear — the reality was all too clear.

She was going to be harvested.

Before she could bother to get her bearings any further, she realized the agate's voice had stopped, replaced with the sound of marching metallic feet. Zircon whirled around in panic, looking for cover, finding none — save the barrels and the wall. With agility she didn't know she had, she dove behind them and shrank into the corner.

The rational part of her asked, "What am I doing?!".

The realistic part of her heard some of the marching feet get louder and convinced her to stay put.

They were peridots, that much became obvious. No other gems had such ingratiating voices.

"I'm beyond done with Shadow Agate, 5XU. If she goes on one more dramatic monologue, I WILL hack her personal files."

So there were only two. 5XU took longer to craft her response, and spoke slower. "That's insubordination."

"She won't even know it's me."

"5XI. You are the only one who would."

They were passing in front of Zircon's hiding spot now, and already, drops of sweat were dripping down her face. But the peridots just kept walking.

"It's all 5XG's fault, I'm telling you," said 5XI, after a pause. "If she hadn't been so culet-backwards, we wouldn't be stationed here. Our whole row lost our status."

"Zero minus zero is still zero."

5XI huffed but didn't respond. Their footsteps stopped, maybe a stone's throw away from Zircon. When she dared to peek out, she saw them standing at a control panel, their backs towards her. Besides their distinctive coloring and limb enhancers, they didn't look all too much like the standard peridots; one had long, straight hair that went down to her middle back; the other was pearl-thin and had shaved her hair on the sides. The long haired-one was contentedly pressing buttons that beeped; the skinny one bent over awkwardly and fiddled with her left leg enhancer.

"Ugh, the sealant broke again. My heel's falling off. Need to get these things in for maintenance."

"Please stop complaining, 5XI."

The skinny one, 5XI, complied and turned to the control panel. "Shutting off power to the conveyor belt."

The lowest conveyor belt, stretching above the clearing where Zircon had reformed earlier, ground to a stop. "Scanning for system abnormalities," said 5XU, and turned to look up at the conveyor belt (Zircon, once again terrified, ducked back behind the barrels).

Something beeped loudly.

"One of the bubbles never made it to initial processing," said 5XU.

"Well, you heard Shadow, the axles are janked. It probably just got pushed off the side somewhere. What was the code?"

"Bubble 1-RR2."

A few button-taps later and 5XI inhaled. "Oh."

"What?"

"That's a priority bubble. Sent straight from Yellow Diamond."

"It's not in the emergency gutters?"

"Negative."

"There's nothing on the scanner feed?"

"Her gem fell out of range. I think she reformed, but it's hard to tell from this."

"I — I'm contacting Shadow."

"For once, I won't argue with that."

A chill, like a cold hand, traced up Zircon's spine. It was her bubble, she knew. Perhaps when it had strayed off the side, it was forced against something and popped, dropping her to the ground where she was now. But she realized that it, in a way, had opened the door to something worse — at least in a bubble, she wouldn't be conscious to feel herself be shattered. Quick and painless. Humane. Now, there was only fear.

Ironically, almost cruelly so, an old thought came back to her: I am the unluckiest zircon in the galaxy.

The gunshot-clacks of high heels on the floor pulled Zircon from her brief spell of doomsaying and self-pity. The agate. "What is it THIS time?" she demanded, her voice deep and resonant as a storm. The peridots' feet clicked together as they snapped to attention.

5XI spoke first. "Shadow Agate, with all due respect, I'll disclaim that it WASN'T my fault."

Shadow sounded quite unconvinced. "That'll be for me to decide. Explain."

"A priority bubble went missing. The one from Yellow Diamond, containing the treasonous zircon. Security footage shows that she may have reformed."

For a tense, icy second, Shadow didn't respond. Then her heels cracked on the floor again, and one of the peridots exclaimed, "Wh — wh — what are you — " before an awful, shrieking alarm split through the air. All machinery halted at once; the workers on the walkways broke into runs; every open door slammed shut. Shadow Agate's voice boomed through loudspeakers, echoing around the halls of the Harvester:

 _"PRIORITY BUBBLE 1-RR2 HAS BEEN POPPED. A TREASONOUS BLUE ZIRCON WILL BE ATTEMPTING ESCAPE. IF YOU ENCOUNTER HER, YOU ARE TO SHATTER HER IMMEDIATELY. THESE ARE ORDERS FROM THE DIAMOND AUTHORITY. I REPEAT — "_

She didn't have to repeat anything. By this point, Zircon was already feeling faint.

 _"YOU ARE TO SHATTER ON SIGHT. THESE ARE ORDERS FROM THE DIAMOND AUTHORITY."_

Zircon sank to the ground.

* * *

 **A/N: AHA I SNUCK INTO THE LIBRARY! COMPUTER DESKTOP INTERFACE, I'VE MISSED YOU!**

 **ahahahah...hahah...**

 **okay, in all seriousness, my brother trashed our (shared) laptop. and our desktop at home sucks. so i haven't had access to a computer in about a week, which is also why i haven't updated petri dish or finished writing my piece for amedot zine. so — until it's fixed — please take the first chapter of this impulse project that i have been writing in the notes of my phone. hopefully that explains why there's no formatting. god i miss being able to overuse italicized words for emphasis**

 **it bothers me that there's no zircon character tag yet**

 **so yeah. hopefully petri dish will be back next week. the next chapter of this will be out whenever i can get back to the library, or if i can figure out how to use the desktop site on my phone (which has never worked and never will work because this hellsite hates phones)**

 **lemme know how you like this thing or whatever**


	2. Chapter 2

Zircon didn't know how long she stayed there, curled in the fetal position, squished between the large barrels and the Harvester wall as alarms and nervous peridots cried out above her. Too long, she knew. The fact that she was still alive was enough proof of that. She would have thought that the area underneath the broken conveyor would have been the first place anyone would look, but everyone seemed to be running up, away from the ground floor.

She racked her brain for what she knew about the harvesting process. All law-breaking gems were guaranteed the right to a trial and a defending zircon — which was what she had been for — before being sentenced to harvesting. The exceptions were (1) during war, (2) under explicit Diamond orders, or (3) in supreme court against the Diamonds, wherein the defendant's loss automatically meant the "repurposing" of her zircon, which didn't happen very often because there weren't an abundance of zircons to go around...but which explained (partly) why she was here. She would deal with that mental battle later; how she would get OUT of this place was the more immediate concern.

For all her experience concerning shatter-row cases, Zircon had been fortunate enough to never enter a Harvester. Very few gems, besides the workers, ever left. All Zircon knew was that the Diamonds' Harvester lay on the outskirts of Facet One. Bubbles were usually delivered to a drop-off point by pearls, then transported by aircraft to the Harvester. The buildings themselves were usually small and dome-like, leading to much speculation on the processes inside, even though this area looked much larger than the tiny dome stereotype suggested. There was something to that…

It became very clear, very fast. Besides the ceiling, there were no windows. Of course — this building was underground. If she wanted to escape, she needed to go up.

Right into the mass of peridots and a furious shadow agate.

Wonderful.

Everything told Zircon to hide for all eternity, but she had to be realistic. The longer she stayed put, the more likely someone was to check behind the barrels. Briefly, she considered climbing into one of the barrels, but they were sealed shut, and stars only knew where she might end up if she did. She had to move. It might be legally obligated of her to turn herself in, but the trembling of her hands and the sweat dribbling into her stiff collar erased any last objections.

She was going to move.

Painstakingly, Zircon moved as quietly as she could to the side of one barrel, and peered out. To her surprise, the ground level was all but deserted. Only two peridots — the same two as before, 5XI and 5XU — were present at the control panels, 5XU tapping out a report and 5XI standing guard with a finger blaster at the ready. Both of their backs were to Zircon, but when 5XI shifted, she got a clear view of the vulnerable green gemstone on 5XI's right cheek. Anyone on the walkways above wouldn't see them; the control panels were sheltered under the bubble conveyor belt.

"I can do this," Zircon told herself. Her brain managed to reply "no you can't" just as she got up, but it was too late.

Stepping as lightly but quickly as possible, Zircon ran towards Peridot 2F5L-5XI, her teeth clenched, her cravat bouncing against her chest in a way that was most definitely very audible...at least, 5XI heard it. She turned around, baring her gem.

Desperate, Zircon hooked 5XI around the neck with one arm and scrabbled at the peridot gemstone with her other hand, finally gripping it in her fingertips. 5XI struggled for a second and then froze. 5XU scrambled to her feet, eyes wide.

"Y — y — you're the escaped zircon," 5XU stammered.

"It would certainly appear so," Zircon replied, trying in vain to sound braver than she felt. "Now, ah — swear you'll do what I say, or — or I'll crush her gem! I'll do it!"

She didn't know if she could do it. She wasn't even sure if she could poof 5XI on her own, unarmed as she was — 5XI was as thin as a rail, but peridots were tough. Nevertheless, 5XU bought it, and nodded frantically.

Well. That wasn't as hard as Zircon had thought it would be. Now she didn't know what to say, because this was as far as she'd thought she would get. If there was a way to make the threats disappear completely…

She met 5XU's eyes, bright green under her visor. Of course. Everyone here, except Shadow Agate, could only see in shades of green…

"Turn off that alarm," Zircon snapped. 5XU nodded again and turned to the control panel, but Zircon decided to add something just in case: "If you try to report me, Skinny here gets it."

"Do as she says," 5XI squeaked. Wide-eyed, 5XU pressed a diamond-shaped icon and the alarms stopped.

"Now tell the whole Harvester. The escaped zircon has been found, shattered, and disposed of."

5XU did a double take, and gaped at Zircon. "What?"

"Just say it!"

5XU obeyed, pulling a tiny microphone from the panel. "The threat has been neutralized. The escaped zircon has been found, shattered, and properly disposed of."

"Tell Shadow Agate to meet you in the west of the building."

(Zircon didn't actually know what was in the west side of the building. She just needed that agate to be somewhere she could avoid.)

"Shadow Agate, we request your presence in the west wing."

"That will be all."

5XU put down the microphone. Above them, the machines started up again. Peridots stopped running and began acting bored again. "This might actually work," Zircon thought to herself, and as she relaxed, her fingers loosened their grip on 5XI's gem.

Which was when 5XI twisted her head, dropped down, and elbowed Zircon in the side.

Pained and shocked, Zircon stumbled back with an undignified "oof!" and landed on her knees. When she looked up, 5XI was charging at her, her face twisted in rage. A second later, Zircon was on the ground again. A tiny green ball of static electricity sparked to life in 5XI's fingers, making the hairs on the back of Zircon's neck stand on end. A second more and she would have been fried, but without thinking, Zircon reached in, grabbed three of 5XI's electric fingers, and jabbed them into the peridot's gut.

The electric shock hurt both of them, but the force caused 5XI to keel over. Still numb, Zircon pushed 5XI off her and whirled to 5XU.

She had a destabilizer — great. 5XU jerked forward and Zircon was only barely able to dodge the weapon.

What happened next could only be attributed to luck (luck and fear and little else): almost without thinking, Zircon circled to 5XU's side and pulled her arm at the elbow, forcing her arm to straighten and making 5XU cry in pain. In quick succession, Zircon's hand wrapped around 5XU's fist and the destabilizer, pulled the floating fingers from their magnetic field, and drove the destabilizer into 5XU's form.

Even before 5XU's remains fell to the floor, Zircon whirled around and met 5XI mid-lunge.

Two peridot gems and eight limb enhancers clattered on the ground.

In the aftermath, it took Zircon a few moments to process what she had just done. She'd assaulted two gems. Two imperial workers. If her courtroom tirade wasn't treason, this certainly was. The idea filled her will both cold dread and an electric thrill — this was rebellion, on par with Rose Quartz herself.

The thought stopped her in her tracks. Rose Quartz. If Zircon had been sentenced to harvesting…

Right. She needed to move. She had to find Rose Quartz.

Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Zircon looked down at her form, closed her eyes, and thought about peridots. She hadn't shapeshifted since a case in which she had had to prove that a gem of a ruby's size couldn't fit a witness description from a certain distance. She was a little rusty, and it took her a few tries until she could get it right — the shapely upper body, the limb enhancers, the nondescript uniform, the tetrahedronal hair, a fake triangular gem on her forehead. If another peridot saw her through her tinted visor, Zircon might appear an aqua-green. But green nonetheless.

Unfortunately, when she reached up to touch it, the hair had more of a curve than anything. Her nose was still long. Then there was still the problem of her all-too-obvious gem, sitting right at her collar and bared by the deep, almost provocative neckline of the uniform.

She could wear something to cover it — no. Or she could carry something...possibly. The peridots she had seen usually just put things in bubbles, or pushed them on rolling carts…

Her eyes landed on a tall hand truck by the barrels. When she went to the effort of putting the barrels onto the truck, it was tall enough to hide her gem from the front. Perfect.

For the first time since she had reformed, Zircon began to finally feel like things were going her way.

* * *

 **ohoho...so it seems that fics about everyone's favorite new blue lawyer wife are in short supply. well i guess i'll treat you guys and deplete my store of backup chapters a little (i have this written up to half of chapter 4, i like to leave a little space so i can edit)**

 **((despite the fact that i had to go in and add paragraph spaces manually which drove me bonkers))**

 **anyway lmk what you think**


	3. Chapter 3

"This is a terrible idea, and I'm going to die within the next ten minutes," thought Zircon.

After poofing Peridots 5XI and 5XU, she had messed around on the ground-level control panels, searching for any evidence of a rose quartz gem having been admitted for harvesting. But the logs said it had not happened. Surely, however, Rose Quartz was somewhere. The Diamonds wouldn't just let her go. Well, Zircon reasoned, if Rose Quartz wasn't shattered, she must have been detained again, and that information would surely be in the criminal records attached to Zircon's own records.

And to get those, she needed access to the building's main database.

Which led to her predicament now. For one, she had little to no idea where she was going. The building was an unsightly conglomeration of architecture, likely built in Era One but renovated with new technology. The main body, the mostly-renovated part, was shaped like a cone, with the tip being the ground floor and the wider base being the top floor — but the wings and tunnels were older, as if the main body of the building had been driven like a stake in between them.

These, in turn, led Zircon into hallways that wrapped in circles, across catwalks that began in the well-lit main building and ended in a dim dead end, up ramps that somehow put her on a lower floor than she'd begun on. For a terrifying few minutes, all of the signs said that she was in the west wing — the exact place she'd told Shadow Agate to be as a diversion — until she made a left and realized they were mislabeled. She was actually in the east wing.

In Zircon's opinion, it was irritatingly impractical; and yet, there was a sense to it. Of course they wouldn't invest money to rebuild the old wings. The Harvester didn't exactly expect visitors.

It would definitely expect an escaping prisoner, unfamiliar with the labyrinthine corridors.

On top of navigating the maze, a constant fear remained. There were peridots everywhere. At first, Zircon put too much effort into avoiding eye contact with them, only to realize that none of them seemed to care. Half of them stared at screens as they passed; the other half expressed only the same vaguely-irritated boredom. The thrill of the alarm and escaped prisoner had long since worn off, and work continued as usual. Still, occasionally Zircon would pass one who didn't wear a visor, and who if she looked up would see that Zircon was clearly a vivid blue, and not as green as she wanted to be. Or one would walk to her side, able to see Zircon's gem if she just glanced over, and Zircon found her shapeshifted visor fogging up from her own sweat.

And worst of all, she knew she was late. It was only a matter of time before Shadow Agate realized that 5XI and 5XU weren't in the west wing to meet her, and that the "treasonous zircon" might not be as disposed of as she thought. It was only a matter of time before she exhausted her shapeshifting abilities (she was already getting fatigued, and sweating even more than usual). And it was only a matter of time before the barrel, which held a sloshing liquid that was gradually heating the metal to alarming temperatures, did something painful.

The last straw came on a lift. Zircon had taken to not liking the lifts — the little attention she got was because of them, mostly peridots telling her that there was no room for her cargo. But this time, it was her only way out of a dead-end corridor. This one was older, and the doors rumbled when they opened, revealing a tiny chamber with faded walls and a flickering light. A single peridot stood inside, tapping on her screen.

Guess this would do. Wiping the perspiration from her cheek, Zircon inhaled and pushed her barrel into the lift.

"What exit?" said the peridot suddenly. Zircon jumped — she hadn't been expecting conversation, and the peridot's voice was surprisingly gravelly.

"Oh, uh...2E."

The peridot pressed 2E, the lift doors closed, and she turned back to her screen. Phew. The risk was over for now; for a few seconds Zircon could relax her shoulders.

Then the peridot turned around, her single eye narrowed. Her gem, set where her right eye would be, glinted yellow in the dim light.

"Now what would the clods on 2E want with superrefined trinitrotoluene?"

Zircon literally felt her gem go cold. "Wh...what?"

"The stuff in that barrel. Does it get hot when you move it?"

"Yes?"

"2E's the quartzite furnace and that's a hypersensitive, heat-triggered liquid explosive. If you crack open that barrel on that level, we're all poofed for sure. Who gave you these orders? Which cut are you?"

No. No no no no no. "I, ah, I'm...Peridot Facet 2F5L, Cut 5XU. I was told by, ehem, my coworker, Cut 5XI."

The lie worked. The peridot's expression shifted from suspicion to mild irritation. "Noobs," she muttered, and then said louder, "It's understandable. Your cut hasn't been here long enough to understand basic combustion, clearly. But I won't let you off at 2E, and next time someone tells you to handle anything that you can't spell, tell your cut manager. Did your noob coworker mention where the trinitrotoluene needs to go?"

An opening! Yes. "I'm, ah, making an exchange with someone from the main database. We were meeting, ah, near Shadow Agate's office."

"Hmm. Well, that's 1N. Sound right?"

"Yes. Thank you."

The peridot gave her a weird look, but pressed the button for 1N. The lift stopped and opened at 5S, where she got out, and the last thing Zircon saw of her was her reopening a screen to a live call feed.

"That should probably make me nervous," Zircon said softly when the lift doors closed. She dropped the peridot disguise long enough to dab her forehead with her cravat, then shapeshifted back. "Then again, I'm…almost always nervous."

Though fatalistic, it was true. She had likely done a hundred things wrong earlier in this half-massed escape. There was nothing she could do except push through.

The lift stopped moving, and the door slid open.

Unlike the other hallways Zircon had visited, 1N was not artificially lit at all. There were only diamond-shaped skylights, lined in even intervals on the ceiling. But it was by no means well-lit. The natural light that came in was grey like smoke, as if the thick glass sucked all the color from it, and it hardly reached the black marble walls pressing in on either side. Stepping into the hall gave Zircon the unsettling feeling that, besides the squares of light, she was stepping into total void.

There was one door at the end of the hallway, and one glowing screen. The screen showed a generic error message, and when Zircon tapped experimentally on it, it screeched an error alarm and glitched blue. But nothing came swooping in to arrest her, and the alarm seemed to be only limited to this screen.

A few seconds later everything stopped and the door opened.

Well, that was easy.

She peeked her head into the dark office, saw nobody, and with a great sigh pulled herself and her barrel inside. Only once the door closed behind her did she shift out of the peridot disguise — and in fatigue collapsed onto the floor.

"Great stardust," she muttered to herself.

Even though she hadn't been wearing it, the armpits of her suit were completely soaked. Sighing again, she wriggled out of the jacket, tied it around her waist, and wiped her forehead with her already-rumpled cravat. If she had to look nice, she could just shift on a new one…she didn't know if she had the energy to shift a new jacket. Her sleeveless jumpsuit would suffice for now.

After a few moments of rest, she stood up and found a light panel. But instead of the gentle hum of plasma lighting, there came the awful sound of stone scraping against stone, and the ceiling peeled away to a skylight. The ghostly grey light illuminated the only furniture in the room — a desk and chair on a raised dais. The surface of the desk glowed red.

Gulping, Zircon stepped up to the desk (trying not to stare at the carved steel tapestries on the wall, many of which displayed hyperrealistic eyes that seemed to follow her). Curiously, there was no login page, no password needed; when she flicked her hand up, the screen expanded easily in front of her. Right there on the desktop was a file reading " ADMITTANCE RECORDS (E 2-5101)". The file size was 84 gigabytes.

Great. She didn't know how to sort quickly through this on Shadow Agate's system, and it would take her forever to read through. And quite honestly Zircon wasn't in the position to sit in this office forever.

"Well, I don't have a external storage unit," she muttered to herself. Of course, it wasn't like Shadow Agate would leave an empty storage disk out on her desk for any hooligan to take and use. "And my Libra account was probably archived when I was sent to be harvested."

Her monocle-screen was still in working order, but when she checked, she couldn't access anything except its basic offline functions. Libra — the system that all Zircons used in court, encompassing her communications, personal database, and case files — was locked. The only thing related to it was the "Add account" option —

Of course.

Zircon would speak for all nesosilicates when or if she admitted that she had multiple communications accounts. One for work, issued by the Diamonds; the other(s) for private recreation, downloaded and curated by an online black market. In Zircon's case, she had one private account. Stars forbid she ever reveal what she used it for, but she was eternally grateful that she had remembered it now.

It was downhill from here. All she had to do was send the admittance records to her private account, then she could use the search tools in her screen to look for Rose Quartz's file, and if Rose wasn't in the Harvester then Zircon could leave and be free. Of course, she would be a fugitive, but she would be in one piece, and she wouldn't be suspended in a permanent state of disjointed, incoherent suffering…

The door opened. Under Zircon's fingertips, the computer system went dark. Her mouth went dry.

In the doorway was the silhouette of an agate.

* * *

 **i am reluctant to say that i am posting this in lieu of petri dish, but in my defense (as i have complained about at much length) my computer was out of order and the petri dish chapter stuck on a hard drive, which contains about 400 other files. i have yet to sort through them all because executive dysfunction is a bitch sometimes. so until i can, and trust me, it is making me feel VERY guilty that i haven't done it, as well as finding and polishing my piece for amedotzine, i'll likely keep posting chapters of this. i may also try to finish the adagio for three chapter that has been in progress for quite a few months now.**

 **like i said: executive dysfunction is a bitch.**

 **please lmk what you liked and whatever**


	4. Chapter 4

Zircon had never met a Shadow Agate before, and if she ever got out of this, she wouldn't choose do it again. At first glance, she almost looked like a regular red agate. Dark red hair done up in a single, banded coil; white skin standing out starkly from her black uniform; the typical broad shoulders and gracious hips of a quartz. Her dark red gem, an upside-down teardrop, was placed squarely in the center of her forehead.

Scary, yes. But arrogant? Even more so. To say the least, Shadow Agate was infuriating.

"Blue Zircon, Facet 1, Cut 7EA," said Shadow, her black lips curling into a smile. The contrast was too harsh for that to be the natural color, and for a half-second Zircon wondered what poor gem had been ground up to paint Shadow Agate's lips.

"That would be me," she replied unsteadily.

No use in lying about it. Shadow Agate just grinned like Zircon had turned herself in...maybe she had.

"You're a brave one to try to escape my Harvester, you know," Shadow continued, taking a slow, but loud step forward. "Well…" She chuckled. "You're either brave, stupid, or suicidal. I can't tell."

At that, Zircon's shoulders relaxed minutely. Like she hadn't heard THAT like before. Shadow Agate was literally just spouting scare tactics that every low-grade interrogator learned in the Kindergarten. Blazes, she'd used that exact one in her earliest trials.

"Look," she weaseled into the opening, and began to craft yet another impromptu argument. She was definitely still terrified, but Shadow's verbatim intimidation quotes had lightened the mood enough for Zircon to be a little patronizing. "There's clearly been a grave misunderstanding. You see, while I WAS in fact assigned to defend the — the obvious traitor Rose Quartz, I never finished my defense; of course, I still had to cover defense of duress. And procedure requires that the prosecutor counters the defense before the defendant is summarily executed. You DO understand this —"

Shadow Agate's smile was gone. She did not seem to want to understand any of it. Her eyes narrowed. "You are here by the orders of both Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond. Their orders are NOT subject to legal pedantics."

"Their orders are REQUIRED to submit to legal pedantics. Required not by me, but by THEIR laws, which they wrote!" Zircon was getting shaky, like she always did in the heat of arguments. "Th — there has to be a miscommunication. My client could not have been convicted without my presence, and without her conviction, I cannot be sentenced to harvesting! Without just cause, this — "

"Your sentence," Shadow cut in, "wasn't for losing a case. Your sentence was for high treason. I'm sure that erases any legal connections you had."

Those weren't even the proper terms. "But Rose Quartz — "

"Has already been dealt with." Shadow's smirk was back, and she examined her black fingernails. "Now there's nothing between you and your sentence, so you might as well surrender now."

At first, the response seemed all-encompassing, an immovable argument. But Shadow's voice was unsteady. This was an unmistakeable lie. Clearly, Zircon couldn't reason with this agate, which she'd half-expected...but then again, she was an agate. An agate, as Peridot 2F5L-8XI had said, exceptionally prone to monologuing.

Zircon sent out a silent thanks to 8XI (wherever she was) before asking Shadow, "How did you know I was here?"

Shadow chuckled — seriously, did she have to do that every time she was about to say something? "I have my ways. I may only be eight hundred years old, but I am the finest agate in my cut! Your silly little games were nothing for me. Oh, yes, don't think I didn't see what you did to those two peridots, or shapeshifting and running around the halls with your barrel of whatever."

Of course she did. By this point, Zircon wasn't even surprised. In fact, if she was surprised at all, it was because she was surprised that she wasn't surprised. "I must be really growing numb to this action-adventure sort of shenanigan," she thought to herself.

Shadow Agate just kept talking. She even had begun to dramatically pace, and wasn't even looking at Zircon anymore. Subtly, Zircon reached for the computer and turned it on.

"In fact," Shadow rambled, and stopped in her open doorway to be silhouetted by the light again, "by the time you found my office, I thought for sure that my little door trick would make you dissipate your form! It works on the peridots. Oh, they hate the sound of error messages that they can't seem to fix. If you had touched that panel at all, it wouldn't have let you in. Smart of you. Or stupid. Stars only know. Because now you're here, cornered in my office. Nowhere to run. I almost feel sorry for you, putting all that effort into your silly little escape plan, when all it's going to end with is me, crushing your gem in my fingers. I should have just cracked you through as soon as you showed your face past those silly barrels. Perhaps it would have been a small mercy. Now, I wonder how blue lipstick would look on me…"

The computer was locked with a password. Just wonderful. Frustrated, Zircon tried out "ShadowAgateIsGreat." Password denied. "TheAlmightyShadowAgate". Password denied. "ShadowAgateTheTerrifying." Password denied. "TheGreatAlmightyTerrifyingShadowAgate".

 _Ding. Password accepted._

The moment might have been humorous, if Shadow Agate hadn't turned around at the noise. "And don't bother making a clever escape or hacking my password!" she smiled, stalking slowly towards Zircon. "Our records are clean. It's only you who was given the mercy of shattering. Your Rose Quartz is gone and the human is dead. The Earth is barren. At long last, there will be no treason left to speak of on our radiant Homeworld…"

Her pale eyes flicked up, and her face darkened. Suddenly, as the agate came closer, Zircon realized something very unsettling — Zircon couldn't focus her gaze on her at all. Like trying to draw the shape of a heat mirage. And for the first time since before Shadow Agate had opened her mouth, Zircon felt a flicker of real, pure fear.

"Except you."

Without warning, Shadow raised her fist and shot forward. Yelping, Zircon ducked. Shadow's fist crashed into the back of the chair — just where Zircon's head had been.

Zircon scrambled away from Shadow Agate, away from the desk, until her back bumped against something hard and cold. It was one of the metal wall decorations, each a little smaller than she was, carved with eerie glinting eyes and claws — except that, upon closer examination, they weren't just tapestries. They were shields. With no time to think, as Shadow Agate jumped down from the dais with force that made the office shake, Zircon pulled one of the heavy shields from the wall and dove behind it. The only way she could hold it was on thick leather straps that a quartz could probably carry on one arm, but which could probably fit around Zircon's whole body.

Then she heard Shadow Agate laughing. A sarcastic laugh. "Do you really think you're going anywhere with that thing? You can't even pick it up!" Shadow crowed.

Gripping the straps tight, Zircon braced herself for impact, but nothing came. Finally, she dared to peek out.

Shadow Agate stood with her back to Zircon, partly obscured by the light filtering in from the ceiling — but as Shadow reached up, a new light bloomed in front of her, silhouetting her powerful form. When she turned around, she held a tall, flaming black scythe, and her eyes glinted amber in the flickering light.

"Well, that's not tacky at all," Zircon murmured, before Shadow swung the scythe and Zircon ducked behind the shield.

When the scythe met the shield, the metal shrieked as it tore. The heat seared Zircon's exposed face and arms even as she hid. Her brain thought of this as an excellent time to reflect on the irony of her fight less than an hour previously, with the clumsy little peridots, and how easy that had seemed. Of course it was easy. Olivines weren't made for combat; quartzes were. Agates were no exception.

"I'm going to die," she murmured to herself, half-aware of what she was saying, and definitely not concerned about grammar — "I'm going to die so bad."

She had to move. That was the only thing that cut through the numbness of so much fear that she couldn't feel anything at all.

She tried to lift with her arms and it didn't work. The strap slipped down her right arm, and then she got an idea and pulled her arm through the other strap, and hefted the shield on her back like some very strange, heavy, backpack. When she turned, Shadow Agate was raising her scythe again, so Zircon whirled back around and braced for impact.

Two long seconds later the blade clanged against the shield. Zircon was thrown back against the wall again...but she was three feet away from where she'd been before. Shadow struck again, and Zircon stumbled, scraping her face against the wall. But the shield protected her — if she had known about Earth animals, she might have even likened the shield to the shell of a turtle.

There. She was indestructible...so long as she kept moving, she kept Shadow behind her, and Shadow kept using that scythe…

Except Shadow did not keep using her scythe. Suddenly, Zircon found herself being pulled painfully by the straps under her arms, her feet free of the ground. On either side of the shield-shell, Shadow's fingers gripped the metal hard enough to bend it, and she lifted Zircon into the air —

Shadow threw her, shield and all, across the room. The shield bounced on its rim, sending a vibration through the metal that knocked her head, and the crashing sounds were deafening to the point of jarring her teeth, and the next thing Zircon knew she was groaning and staring up at the skylight, rocking back and forth on the shield. Her limp hand bumped against something hot — the barrel of liquid explosive.

Shadow summoned her scythe again, and the white flames raced up onto the blade. Like the final piece to a winning case, it clicked. The only possible solution.

 _This is probably going to kill me._

Grinning, Shadow drew back the flaming scythe, her expression unhinged, her manic eyes tracking Zircon's every move. When Zircon rolled over and struggled to her feet, Shadow adjusted the angle of her weapon and swung. A slow swing, but right towards Zircon. Right towards the barrel.

It took all her strength and then some but she did it. Zircon turned and jumped onto the barrel lid, her hands over her gem. Then she jumped again, and tilted her body backwards. Shadow's scythe met the barrel of explosive.

Zircon's feet had just left the barrel when a great light ripped through Shadow Agate's office.

The explosion threw her up, and suddenly there was pain. So, so much pain. In her legs, all across her body as she hit resistance, in the depths of her head as the light blinded her and the sound deafened her. She broke through the glass skylight, and then through something even harder that was above that, and suddenly she was falling. Blissfully falling.

She landed on her back, on the shield. She was winded and the shield was half-melted (she could literally hear the sizzle of molten metal against photomatter). Her body hurt everywhere. She wasn't sure if she could open her eyes, she heard nothing but a terrible ringing, she could comprehend even less.

But there was one thing she knew: she was out of the Harvester. Wherever she was now, in whatever condition — she was no longer doomed to die.

* * *

 **the ao3 version of this had the first paragraph of my immortal rewritten to fit Shadow Agate but i felt like just plopping that in the author's note here might be a joke lost, just because of the different reader demographics  
**

 **anyway please review**


	5. Chapter 5

It took a few minutes for Zircon to peel open her eyes again, and once she did, it took longer to become un-blinded. Then she saw pink sky, bisected by a fuzzy grey column of smoke. The column, when she followed it with her eyes, stemmed from a black, charred husk about a mile away. Aircraft orbited the disaster scene.

Groaning, Zircon sat up and ran down a mental checklist — her gem was fine. No visible damage. Her physical form was a mess. Molten metal dripped from her scraped arms and back; her jumpsuit was shredded and she had lost one shoe. The remains of the other shoe fell off when she moved her foot, revealing badly blistered skin. Her jacket, tied around her waist, was charred and in pieces. Useless. Even her trusty headscarf had torn open, and her wiry white hair flopped in front of her eyes. Her monocle was shattered — the only thing that she couldn't regenerate until she was poofed. Wasn't that just great.

Her ears were still ringing...not that there was anything around to hear. She was in the middle of nowhere. "Nowhere" being a field of flat, shiny blue panels; a power plant. Nowadays, these fields were the only flat, uninhabited surfaces of Homeworld. She had landed on the edge of one blue panel, with debris and shards of glass all around her. Nearby panels displayed similar debris. The explosion, apparently, had been so violent that it crumbled black marble and hurled it in a half-mile radius — not to mention Zircon herself. No surprise that the power panel below her was dented.

More violent was the realization: she was not only a rebel. She was now a terrorist. A fugitive.

As far away from the scene as she was, it was only a matter of time before someone came looking for her. She had to move — again. She needed to hide so she could rest, maybe even regain enough energy to fix her appearance modifiers. Nothing said culprit of trinitrotoluene bombing like charred clothes and ash on her face.

Wincing against the blisters on her bare feet, Zircon shed the remains of her shield and stood up. Her ears were beginning to readjust. In the distance, there were sirens. The catwalks, forming a grid above the power panels, creaked and whistled in the cold wind.

She took to the catwalks. Every intersection met in a circular base, in the center of which was a small control booth, inside of which was nothing. There were hundreds of these booths — hundreds of hiding places.

After about an hour of walking along the catwalks (after which she looked over her shoulder and found aircraft circling the place near where she'd landed, yikes) Zircon found a control panel that had been deactivated. It had only last been used some time ago, judging by the rusting, peeling sign reading "OUT OF ORDER — PRIORITY 99997". Upon prying open the door to the control booth, the rusted tracks screamed in protest; dust fell into her hair. The inside was only large enough for her to extend her arms out. When Zircon tried to pull the door shut, the bar snapped off in her hands.

"I...guess I have a weapon now," she told herself haplessly. It was better than nothing.

She lowered the blinds over the windows and sank down in the hard chair, sighing mightily. She was aching, soaked in sweat, and crusting over with heat blisters and hardening steel. She'd tried to wipe the steel off, but the liquid metal just smeared on her hands and what was left of her jumpsuit. And honestly...she couldn't care. All she wanted was to lie down for hours, to close her eyes and escape from consciousness...but of course that was silly. Gems couldn't do anything of the sort.

"Well, I'm out," she whispered. "I'm not dead."

For now. No doubt, there would be patrols and robonoids crawling this area — likely all of Facet One — until her gem was found. The patrols would be unlikely to check every single control booth; they would be more likely to assume she was on the run. The robonoids were less predictable (she didn't want to think of exactly HOW unpredictable). So she was fine. Or at least, she was as close to fine as she could possibly be.

But what of Rose Quartz? Or the human specimen? Shadow Agate said they were both dead, but Zircon would trust that agate about as far as she could throw her. Zircon couldn't accept that Rose was gone. She needed answers. During the one-minute recess, Rose alluded to the fact that she couldn't remember Pink Diamond's shattering because she only had Rose Quartz's gem. Had she lost the ability to project a physical form? It would certainly explain her ridiculous disguise — if she was using it as a host, of course she couldn't change out of it.

But otherwise, it only opened up more questions. Did Rose Quartz's metamorphosis have anything to do with Pink Diamond? What else did Rose Quartz know? Did she remember any of the events leading up to Pink Diamond's shattering, or were ALL of her memories gone? If the Diamonds overruled evidence and deemed Rose Quartz guilty, why wasn't Rose Quartz's name right under her own in the Harvester records?

It became very clear to Zircon, very fast. There was no reasoning her way out of this one. There were too many unknown variables. Something had happened after Zircon had been poofed, and if she couldn't find Rose Quartz, or simply waltz up to the Diamonds and ask, there was only one other possible witness.

Yellow Zircon.

A sound snapped her out of her thoughts — a low, uncanny humming. A robonoid. Automatically, Zircon dropped to the floor between the chair and the control panel, gripping her pole tightly. All she could hope was that the control booth was so full of tech that it jumbled scanning signals.

For once (it felt), she was lucky. She was right.

Through the cracks in the window blinds, a red light glowed. Zircon began to wonder if this was how she died: curled up in an out-of-order power plant control booth, clutching the broken handle of a door, covered in steel from a sadist's wall decoration, quivering with the tattered remains of her appearance modifiers soaked in her own anxiety sweat.

Then the red light dimmed and the humming sound faded.

The robonoid left. Zircon stayed put. An hour later, just as she was thinking she was in the clear, another robonoid circled around.

Two hours later, there had been no more robonoids and Zircon dared to show her face above the control panels. When she peeked behind the window blinds, the power plant was deserted. The sky had darkened to a deep purple, and the column of smoke from her explosion was nearly gone. All around her, in every distance she looked to, city lights glittered on the horizon — Facet One being the slice of horizon to the north, Facets Two and Four making up the rest.

Just as they had done many times that day, four words repeated like a mantra:

 _You have to move._

During the claustrophobic, terrified wait, Zircon had picked most of the hardened metal off her skin and clothes, and regained enough energy to bring back her shoes. She was still far from presentable, and her suit was still practically falling off of her, and it would be a long time before she could get her jacket back, but at least most of her blisters and scrapes had healed. She could at least run. Or fight. Or whatever being a rebel and a runaway entailed.

Before she could convince herself to stay put, Zircon gripped her pole tightly and stepped out of the control booth. A cool breeze hit her face, pushing her pale blue curls across her eyes. She looked to Facet One and inhaled deeply.

"Whatever you're hiding, my Diamonds," she whispered, "I'll get to the bottom of it. Even if it's the last thing I do."

* * *

 **disclaimer: im taking some liberties with how much a gem's form can be "damaged" per se. i know it's just light, but im a slut for misery and wounds, so deal with it**

 **here's an art i drew specifically for this chapter (take out spaces and parentheses)  
**

 **equilateralwaffle. tumblr . com (/) post / 161570198650 /**

 **please review thanks**


	6. Chapter 6

Zircon had one hour.

She knew from experience (four thousand years of it) that a good zircon never got a vacation. She also never got to pick her schedule. The schedule went as so: be notified of a case via monocle screen, take a shuttle to a courtroom, complete the case, take a shuttle back to cubby, indulge in exactly one hour of rest, check screen for next assignment, repeat. Every zircon was the same.

To simplify the shuttle system, every zircon in Facet One lived in the same cubby complex, so Zircon knew for a fact where Yellow Zircon would go. Once she did, Zircon would have an hour to isolate her, force her to spill what she knew, and convince her not to tell a soul. As she hiked from the power plant into the outskirts of Facet One, using her pole as a walking stick, she tried to plan. She got nothing.

There inevitably came a time in her journey when she hit civilization, and it came sooner than she would have liked. At least she was able to soften the blow. Instead of taking to the upper-crust walkways, which she was accustomed to, she avoided all lifts and shuttles and stuck to the ground. To the underworld.

In general, Homeworld worked as so: the further from the ground, the nicer the structure. At the ground, the buildings were basically falling apart. Streets wove and tangled as nonsensically as the Harvester corridors. The only lights were low-power plasma bulbs, electric panels of old advertisements, and what leaked from the windows of buildings. The underworld was desolate — but by no means deserted.

Zircon felt the eyes on her, even when she didn't see anyone around. When she did see gems, she tried not to look at them too long, but it was easier said than done. They were dark, emaciated things; they slouched in doorways and loitered a little too far from the artificial lights. It had been a long time since she had seen gems like them. Petty criminals, borderline-defectives, veterans unable to serve again — in her first seven hundred years of service, she had grown very familiar with underworld dwellers. Teetering on the edge of useless to the Diamonds, everyone in the underworld lived despite their status, left alone simply because the Diamonds couldn't afford to exterminate them all. And because of zircons like herself. She'd always had an aptitude for weaseling her clients away from shatter row, and had gotten all her experience from gems like these.

Her first fear was that her presence and appearance might turn her from public defender to easy target, but it didn't take long to realize it was the opposite. No one touched her. She passed a heavily-weathered onyx on the walkway and the other gem shrank back to make room.

"Well, I know I look awful, but I can't possibly look THAT bad," she thought, just to lighten her own mood, but then a minute later she passed a flickering public screen with her face on it.

WANTED, BROKEN OR WHOLE: Zircon, Facet 1D7B, Cut 7EA (Starlite Blue variety). Guilty of high treason against the Diamond Authority and the shattering of seventeen innocent gems.

Inadvertently, she stepped back, her hand over her mouth.

Seventeen innocent gems.

If there was ever a time when she doubted her pursuit of truth, this was it. She hurried along, then sank down on a crumbling stone bench far from the sign.

"Who am I joking?" she whispered. She was crazy. She knew it. Innocent gems had died because she wouldn't stop poking around in things she had no business with. Who knew what would happen if she kept going, what she'd find herself doing. At this rate she'd have a diamond shattered by sundown.

For the first time since reforming, the adrenaline receded and Zircon was scared. Not just anxious, or panicked — rather, paralyzed. If she was smart, she would stay where she was. She should disappear into the shadows of the underworld, land a job as a janitor or back-room typist or whatever services were needed down here, and never show her face to anyone with a diamond badge on their body again. No more gems would die. Maybe she might even have an off-chance of surviving.

But she knew better than anyone — living with questions unanswered was hardly a life at all.

Much too long later (maybe several hours, maybe a day, time passed differently where the sun couldn't reach), Zircon stepped off an underground transport in Sector 7 — her neighborhood. It was more dangerous here, even in the underworld levels. Before she could leave the deserted transport station, a robonoid droned around a corner and Zircon had to hide in a waste receptacle.

Covert operations were a lot of hiding.

At last she made it. Several lifts and one crazed chase with an alarmed ruby guard later, Zircon had reached the upper crust of Facet One, and squeezed down a maintenance alley between a wall and some pipes. The pipes ran up from a shiny, flat box, which showed a very nice reflection of the adjacent walkway. Zircon could see every gem coming towards her from the nearest shuttle stop. It was the route she had taken back to the cubby complex after every trial, and it was the route that Yellow Zircon took as well — they'd often taken the shuttle home together, if their schedules lined up. Like most zircons did, they often made small talk to distract themselves from how stressed they were.

As she waited in the alley, Zircon reflected on the fact that a trial could take anywhere between two minutes and ten years.

She was lucky. Seven hours later, Zircon saw her target in the reflection — yellow, her gem set at the base of her throat, a little lankier than most. One of the few on the walkway, besides a kyanite staring at her screen. Just as Yellow was about to pass the alley, Zircon reached into her gem and pulled out a ten-credit piece. She'd been surprised to find that her emergency money was still in her gem; surely the Harvester protocol would have removed it before crushing her. But she had gotten lucky again. Yellow was as greedy as a yellow gem could get; she wouldn't ignore ten credits…

Zircon dropped it just outside the alley, and it clinked loudly. In the reflection, she saw Yellow's eyes go wide, she walked towards the piece to pick it up — and Zircon's hand shot out and latched around her wrist.

A second later the only sign that Yellow Zircon had been there was a ten-credit piece clattering on the ground.

Clumsily, but effectively, Zircon pulled Yellow down the alley, around a corner into a dead end. In the scuffle, Yellow's head knocked against the wall, and she barely resisted as Zircon her against the wall and pushed the pole up to her neck, her hands on each end. If Zircon leaned her weight into the pole, it would virtually decapitate Yellow. Both of them knew it.

"You," Yellow squeaked, her eyes wide and slightly unfocused. "Let me go, right now, or — "

Her voice got a little loud at the end so Zircon pushed harder on the pole. The threat petered out into a choked squeak. "Oh, well, now that you put it like that, of course I'll let you go," she snapped, the sarcasm practically dripping from the words. "I have questions. And I need you to answer them."

She let up on the pressure so Yellow wouldn't poof, but Yellow still glared daggers. "Or — or what? You'll incinerate me, like those peridots at the Harvester? Oh, don't think I don't know. All of Homeworld knows what you did to them."

Zircon gritted her teeth. "They weren't meant to be casualties."

"I'm sure that's what Rose Quartz said too, after she shattered Pink Diamond. Necessity clause, of course. But a thousand zircons before you have struck it down. It has been ruled before, and it was going to be ruled again, once and for all. And then YOU had the nerve to stand before our grieving Diamonds and tell them that you don't care for such a loss? You can't tell me that all of Homeworld doesn't hate you."

"You don't care about Pink Diamond. You weren't even made yet."

"I don't have to care," Yellow sniffed. "That's the Diamonds' job. And, pardon me, but I think they cared quite a bit when you accused them of shattering her."

She had a point. "I understand. I may have gotten carried away with that. But you have to understand — something isn't right. Something about the original investigation was manipulated."

"We were at WAR, Blue. There was no investigation."

"There — " Zircon did a double take. "There was no formal investigation?"

"Of course not; there were witnesses, and Rose Quartz had already pledged to bring down the Diamonds, what more evidence do you need? There's more evidence of Rose Quartz's crime than there is to you existing at all — "

"Yellow, listen. When was the last time you saw a gem shapeshift? Or project a hologram of another gem?"

Yellow hesitated. "The coloration would be wrong — "

"Would it now? Look at your hand. Do think your skin is yellow? Well, in this lighting, it could be argued that it looks green. Not long ago, I escaped a Harvester by shapeshifting into the form of a peridot, and trusting that the green tint of the workers' visors would do the rest. You only see what you want to see, Yellow. These factors are ALWAYS considered before invoking capital punishment. We need to treat this crime like there were no reliable witnesses, and the identity of the perpetrator was unknown. Rose Quartz had the motive. It is unknown if she had the means. She did NOT have an opportunity."

Yellow's mouth opened, then closed. The fight drained out of her eyes.

"The fact that there was no formal investigation only supports this," Zircon told her. "For your sake, I won't say that Yellow or Blue Diamond committed the crime. But Rose Quartz is not as guilty as we think she is. I need to speak with her."

Again, Yellow was silent. Then she raised one eyebrow. "Are you suggesting that I have a direct communication link with Rose Quartz?"

"Yes! I mean — no, you obviously wouldn't. You know what I mean! After I was poofed, I lost contact with her. My Libra account was deactivated. Do you know what the Diamonds did with her or not?"

"I don't. Quit spitting in my face." Yellow grimaced, and she resisted Zircon's pole so she could very pointedly wipe her cheek. "I swear to quasars, it's even more vile than your sweat."

Zircon ignored the commentary. "You don't know where Rose Quartz is?"

"Of course not; Yellow Diamond poofed me right after you. I wouldn't be surprised if that traitor met the same fate. For all we know she's in shards at the Harvester."

"No, I know she's not, and I am confident in that because a freshly-baked, overdramatic agate wouldn't shut up about it."

"Then I can't help you." Yellow Zircon straightened her back, as much as one could while locked at the neck. She still managed to look professional. "I don't know much more than you do. And if I'm honest, the only thing that's kept me alive is that I can shut my mouth about it."

"You can't help me at all?"

"Still not convinced that helping you is wise."

"Consider this, then." Yellow was very purposefully staring off into the middle distance avoiding Zircon's gaze, so Zircon grabbed her chin and turned her to face her. "I don't want to think the Diamonds are responsible any more than you do. But our purpose as zircons isn't to sweep evidence into the gutter and move along. We are here to bring justice — you know this — it's written in your gem. I understand it's unfathomable. You live for Yellow Diamond; I live for Blue Diamond. And it's breaking me to think that they could purposefully hurt Homeworld. But it would break me even more to let this injustice rest, regardless of who really did it. With every second she lives unconvicted, she benefits from a mistrial. It's unfair."

Yellow's eyes darted at the U-word. She looked like she wanted to run, to forget this confrontation and move on with her life. But that was a luxury Blue Zircon didn't have.

Finally, Yellow sighed. "Fine," she told Zircon. "I know one thing. But if you expect me to get involved, you're full of silt."

Zircon's shoulders relaxed. "I wasn't expecting you to. What do you know?"

"You can't keep running and hiding forever."

"I can try."

"You can't." Yellow put her hand between her throat and Zircon's pole and slowly pushed it down. Warily, Zircon relented, and Yellow adjusted her monocle. "You might be wanted, but you have one last chance. I reformed in Blue Diamond's recovery bay, and Blue Diamond and her pearl were just down the hall. I believe they thought they were alone. Blue Diamond said she didn't want you to be shattered — she has questions, and you had answers. Or at the very least, hypotheses."

"You're suggesting…"

"Turn yourself in. Find an officer of Blue Diamond, tell them you plead guilty and seek asylum from your Diamond. They're obligated to stay silent in cases of asylum, so my Diamond won't know."

Zircon bit her lip. Asylum. Right. As if nothing could go wrong with that. Hiding her reluctance, she thanked Yellow, and let her go on her way.

Once she was alone, she slumped to the ground and hugged her knees. She didn't want to confront Blue Diamond any more than she wanted to shave off pieces of her own gem.

But it wasn't like she had a choice.

* * *

 **my heart is racing at. like. 3000 bpm because i drank a whole liter of crystal light pomegranate shitjuice and im on the toilet, probably peeing blood right now so idk how coherent this a/n will be**

 **which is good because i hav eno idea what to say in this a/n**

 **review please**


	7. Chapter 7

It also happened that, as well as no choice about what to do, Zircon also had no choice as to when she did it.

She had been fixing her hair when she was caught.

After the very high probability of shattering, which was a mentally taxing concern and which she wasn't too perked to deal with right now, Zircon's first concern was her appearance. She still couldn't seem to summon the energy to fix her tattered jumpsuit, as if she'd spent it all while shapeshifting and running for her life. It didn't help that she had a slow recovery rate when NOT stressed. She was pretty stressed right now, to say the least...and her recovery rate seemed to have ground to a stop.

Knowing this, Zircon returned to the underworld, and took shelter in an abandoned shop with shattered windows. It was dark, smelled like sulfur, and had fallen prey to thousands of years of graffiti artists, but the back room had a long bench and a locked door. Groaning, she set down her pole and lay on her back. The ceiling greeted her with a cheerful red "GO FRACK YOURSELF".

Wearily, she ran her hand through her hair. It was short and unreasonably curly, and flopped in her eyes without her scarf to hold it back. If nothing else, she needed that scarf. So she closed her eyes, tapped into her energy, and imagined the stiff molded scarf folding itself up around her head.

Her head remained unmistakably bare and all she managed to get out was an undignified grunt.

Not only that, but her efforts made her realized exactly how fatigued she was. How sick she was of running and crouching behind things. She'd been gripping her pole so hard that her fingernails made indents in her thumbs. She was tired. She didn't want to run anymore.

Until something moved in the shop beyond and suddenly running seemed like a great idea again.

Zircon was on her feet again, despite her fatigue, and she scooped up her pole — except that she was shaking so bad that it slipped down and the end clanged against the floor. The sounds in the shop stopped. "Stars help me," thought Zircon, just before the door was smashed into pieces.

Three quartzes stormed in.

Unlike Shadow Agate, they were fast. When Zircon swung her pole, the first one ducked and the second reached in to pluck the weapon from Zircon's hand. The third barrelled her into the wall. Her head knocked against the stone, and there was a great pressure on her chest, and the next thing Zircon knew, there were three gigantic quartzes leering at her. The largest one held her up with a single hand, so high off the ground that her feet dangled limply. A thick finger pressed into her gem.

"It's her, alright," the largest quartz grinned, her sharp teeth glinting. "The treasonous zircon."

"Can't believe that bloodstone brat was telling the truth about seeing her come in here," snarled the quartz on the left.

The quartz on the right made a face. "She don't look like much."

"She won't look like anythin', once we're done with her." The center quartz shifted, leaning her weight into Zircon's trembling form...and unintentionally baring the blue diamond on her chest.

"Ah — I — wait!" Zircon cried. "I seek asylum from Blue Diamond!"

Her voice cracked, but it at least got their attention. The quartzes stared at her. "That's new," the right one remarked.

The left one's fists were still clenched. "Boss, what do we do?"

They both looked towards the center quartz, but she just glared at Zircon. Gulping, Zircon stared right back. In the dim light, the quartz seemed to be a purple color, maybe some strain of amethyst, and her white hair was pushed up by a dark scarf. Her forehead gem, in a square cut, glinted in the dim light. Her dark eyes were unreadable.

Then, without warning, she pulled her hand off Zircon's chest and let her drop to her hands and knees.

The next thing Zircon knew, the officer grabbed her by the wrist, dragging her outside. The other two quartzes locked Zircon in. Still trembling with shock, Zircon stumbled along with the quartzes, and obeyed when they told her to get into a dark red shuttle pod. They could be taking her to another, not-exploded Harvester and she couldn't have fought back. The odds were too risky.

The right quartz took to the driver's seat, and the officer and left quartz squeezed Zircon between them on a tiny seat. The left one held Zircon's makeshift pole weapon. It took a while to adjust to the bright light inside the pod, and once she stopped squinting, she straightened her back and tried to act dignified as she looked to the quartz officer. To her surprise, all three quartzes weren't purple; rather, a rich reddish-pink. Raspberry quartzes.

"Ah, excuse me," Zircon cleared her throat nervously, "would you be permitted to tell me where you are taking me, or for what purpose?"

The officer side-eyed her. "To our manager," she said. "You're a defense zircon. Figure it out."

She tried. She had dealt with asylum cases before, but none particularly recently, and none with a Diamond. You didn't just seek asylum from a Diamond. Asylum meant turning yourself in to someone who would speak on your behalf to save you from shatter row, and even rubies knew that in these cases, the Diamonds were always the prosecutors. The conflicting interests of Blue Diamond alone would complicate this. Shadow Agate said both Diamonds had sentenced her to shattering; Yellow Zircon said that Blue Diamond regretted her decision. Something went wrong along the way. Presumably, they would be taking her to a middleman — a neutral third party who would analyze her plea for shelter and present it to Blue Diamond on Zircon's behalf.

Zircon began to feel like this plan was less of a plan and more like walking blindfolded onto a minefield.

After a silent ten minutes, the shuttle pod glided to a halt and the door slid open to a pristine, private docking bay. Everything was tinted a pale pink. The three raspberry quartzes led her down two long corridors before the two smaller ones stopped on either side of an entry point, marked, "Manager: Cranberry Tourmaline, 2.8J9P, Blue Diamond." The quartz officer pulled her inside, to a dim pink room with high ceilings and walls that seemed to stretch for eternity.

Cranberry Tourmaline stood behind a spartan desk, gazing idly out a window with her hands behind her back. She was curvy but imposing, her form pressed into a trim pencil skirt and her high heels putting her just at Zircon's height. Like all tourmalines of her kind, her skin was a dark wine-red; her cloudlike black hair was pulled into a high bun. She wore shiny metal bracelets.

Raspberry Quartz stopped a few feet from her desk and saluted, leaving Zircon disheveled and very awkward. "Cranberry, we found the fugitive zircon," Raspberry said — if not a little obviously. Cranberry turned and raised an eyebrow.

"At ease, Raspberry." Her voice was low and harmonious, but tight and controlled. It only tightened when her eyes settled on Zircon. "She hasn't been restrained?"

"No. She came willingly, and pleads asylum from Blue Diamond."

Cranberry's other eyebrow went up as well. Then, sighing, she sat down at her desk and motioned for another chair, which rose from the floor. Raspberry Quartz stepped around the desk and behind Cranberry, letting Zircon take the seat. As soon as she did, blinds rolled down the windows. The main source of light now came from the glowing desk.

"Explain," said Cranberry Tourmaline, pulling up a screen. Zircon felt the familiar sensation of sweat beading on her forehead. She sat only on the edge of her seat.

"I...assume you mean why I would want to seek asylum."

"Whatever you tell me will be forwarded to Blue Diamond. So presumably, yes."

Zircon hesitated as she gathered her thoughts, then hesitated again as Cranberry Tourmaline looked at her. Stars above, the quartzes could have at least given her the time to do her hair. She awkwardly pulled up the severed strap of her top (it dropped back down a second later). "I...well...ehem."

Cranberry looked back down at her screen. Zircon exhaled.

"To begin, I want to apologize. I got a little carried away in the courtroom — it was a high pressure situation, I was arranging my case extemporaneously, and I may have jumped to conclusions. There are, of course, many reasons why someone else other than Rose Quartz might have shattered Pink Diamond, and why no one knew about it. I've made it my objective to find them."

Cranberry Tourmaline's plump lips pressed together, but she said nothing. Raspberry folded her brawny arms and her glare sharpened. Hesitantly, Zircon continued.

"I understand that, in escaping the Harvester, I caused a lot of damage...and I shattered several innocent gems. I don't deny that. But it wasn't my intent. As soon as I reformed, I shapeshifted as a peridot and tried to leave the Harvester without hurting anyone. I took the barrel of trinitrotoluene with me because I needed to hide my gem. I didn't know that it was explosive; I almost carted it onto a level with a furnace before a peridot stopped me. When the agate cornered me, she wanted to crush me, right then and there. I was desperate. I suppose I tricked her into setting off the explosive. But I swear by the stars, I had no idea how powerful it would be. If I had known…"

She trailed off. Cranberry's fingers danced across a keyboard. "Go on," she said without looking up. Zircon did.

"I had been in the agate's office because I needed to know if Rose Quartz was admitted for harvesting. But she wasn't, and I haven't the slightest idea where she could have gone otherwise. I've been searching for clues to her whereabouts ever since, but no one knows. Yellow Zircon…" Zircon hesitated, remembered how she'd swore to Yellow not to tell a soul of her involvement, and changed her story, "...refused to speak to me. The only witnesses left are the Diamonds themselves. I know they were the ones to sentence me in the first place. But my Diamond — Blue Diamond has questions. Why and by whom was Pink Diamond really shattered. I want to find the answers just as much as she does. Rose Quartz may hold them, and there's no way I can find her on my own. I seek — no, I beg asylum of my Diamond. No one wants to solve these questions. I will, if I receive the support I need."

The sounds of Cranberry's fingers on the screen stopped. When Zircon looked at her, she was staring off into space. Her eyes glimmered with tears.

"What happened to Pink Diamond?" Cranberry Tourmaline asked. It was half-echoed, half a legitimate question, and Zircon wasn't sure how to answer. Suddenly, the Blue Diamond insignia on the front of Cranberry's dress seemed out of place. A substitute.

Cranberry's eyes flicked to Zircon, intense, almost angry. But sad. "She was mine," she said, her voice as taut as a bowstring. "She was my quartzes' Diamond, too. And now she's gone. I'm...so, so confused, all the time."

"I'm sorry," Zircon said solemnly, but Cranberry cut her off.

"If you can give me a better answer for how she died," she said, "I'll send this report to Blue Diamond. But if you're as cracked as they say you are, I'm alerting Yellow Diamond as well. That's my only offer."

Hesitating, Zircon nodded. "Understandable."

"So tell me. From the beginning." Cranberry Tourmaline closed her screen and folded her hands in front of her. At her side, Raspberry Quartz shifted her weight. Their eyes met Zircon's, dark but glimmering wetly. "How was she broken?"

* * *

 **YEET SORRY FOR THE WAIT i was writing chapter 9 and got stuck and then scared that i'd end up posting all my backup chapters before i finished it**

 **anyway, introducing the berry team! i'm gonna kill em off next chapter so enjoy them while they last — im just kidding they'll disappear but then they'll come back. i'm hoping to make them a bigger part of the story than just a plot device, and if not then into the barrel they go with 5XI, 5XU, and Shadow Agate**

 **updating this may be a little slower than before because i have ap summer projects but i still need review food so pls feed me if you would please**


	8. Chapter 8

It went, unlike most of Zircon's shenanigans so far, surprisingly well.

Cranberry Tourmaline listened patiently, with the forehead-gem Raspberry Quartz at her side. Neither spoke. Carefully, Zircon explained her defense — beginning with how Rose Quartz could not have come close to Pink Diamond's Palanquin, how Pink Diamond had been drawn outside by someone she trusted, how it was quite possible that someone else had framed Rose Quartz and covered it up later. Raspberry Quartz bit her lip at this, and Zircon caught Cranberry Tourmaline's hand slipping into Raspberry's under the cover of the desk. Zircon didn't say anything. It was clearly painful to hear this; she couldn't blame them.

When she finished, they were very quiet. Then Cranberry Tourmaline stood up and faced the window. "Raspberry, take her to the recovery bay," she said shortly, clasping her hands behind her.

Zircon felt a little insensitive about asking, but she knew the curiosity would kill her if she didn't. "Will you send the report to Blue Diamond?"

"I'll consider it," she responded distantly. Before Zircon could say any more, Raspberry Quartz hurried her out of Cranberry's office and down the corridors again.

She took Zircon to what seemed to be a recovery bay, which held one poofed raspberry quartz on a pillow and another haplessly attempting to grow back all four limbs. Zircon took a cot at the far end of the room, away from the two so as to discourage stares (the quadriplegic still did).

"Fix yourself up," said Raspberry Quartz tersely. "Don't bother running. I'm staying here."

And stay she did. She took the cot next to Zircon, and tucked her arms behind her curly mass of hair.

So Zircon rested.

The recovery bay was warm and dry, with a slow fan providing soothing white noise. But it took a while to truly relax. First Zircon had to deal with the lingering anxiety that came with rest time, the trained response of having only an hour between cases — well, that was pointless; she had no job. No more cases. She could rest as long as she liked. The absence was numbing, almost as if she was the one missing limbs.

Then there was the anxiety of now. Cranberry Tourmaline wasn't treating her like a prisoner. She had seemed pretty upset by Zircon's defense of Rose Quartz, but it wasn't angry; just sad. Then there was the fact that Cranberry wanted her to recover. Why do that if she was just being carted off to be harvested? No, Cranberry wasn't such a capricious variable. Neither were her quartzes. Blue Diamond, though — now there was a wild card.

But the fan kept humming. The lights dimmed, as if sensing that she was at rest. So the muscles in her shoulders relaxed, and her fists unclenched, and she rested.

After everything stopped aching, which was about a day in, Raspberry Quartz gave her a wet towel to wash off her grime. Then Zircon got to work patching up her outfit. As her energy trickled back, she fixed the jumpsuit strap, patched up the holes, and repaired her tattered pants — and by the end of the third day, she got her headscarf back (praise the stars).

At the beginning of the fourth day, she tried for her jacket and felt it tingling just out of reach.

Today, she was almost alone in the recovery bay. The poofed gem had reformed and the quadriplegic had healed long ago, leaving only the raspberry quartz officer and Zircon. Every once in a while, a poofed or damaged quartz would come in, but she always left the same day. Only Zircon stayed this long. So when the door opened, Zircon didn't even look up, assuming it to be another unlucky quartz. The clack of heels on tile told her otherwise.

"Blue Zircon," said Cranberry Tourmaline.

Startled, Zircon sat up. At some point, Raspberry Quartz had stood and saluted.

"At ease," said Cranberry. Raspberry dropped the salute, but the last thing Zircon wanted to be right now was at ease. Cranberry subtly fingered her shiny bracelets. "How...um…how have you been recovering?"

"Slowly," Zircon replied uncertainly. "I…don't look half-cracked."

Cranberry gave a weak smile. "She's been very cooperative," Raspberry Quartz put in. "She'll be fully recovered by the end of the rotation."

The smile dropped. Cranberry's fingering became anxious fiddling. "Alright. Thank you. But — I — Raspberry, I need to speak with you in private. Now. Leave Zircon here."

Raspberry nodded. As Cranberry rushed out of the room, Raspberry turned and nudged Zircon's chin up, forcing their eyes to meet.

"Stay here, or I'll bash your skull in with your own foot," Raspberry told her, in no uncertain terms. Then she followed Cranberry out.

It was the last time Zircon would see them safe. But she didn't know that until her window shattered four hours later.

She had been reclining on her cot, trying to reach for her jacket, and wondering absentmindedly when Cranberry and Raspberry were going to be done speaking. She'd almost gotten the jacket and had no answers for the question.

Then, there was a sound so close and loud that she actually fell off the platform — a window near the ceiling exploded, as if someone had thrown a boulder through it. Except instead of a boulder, it was a pink-and-orange blur.

Zircon stared in abject horror at the thing that landed face-first on the floor, amidst a shower of glass shards. No...no, it was two things. The larger one, a skinny pink being (a pearl?), had a smaller, poofy orange one on its back. The orange one stood up first.

A sapphire?

"Lars! I'm certain you'll make the jump. We will infiltrate the tourmaline's facility mostly unharmed!" said the sapphire brightly. The pink being groaned.

"Thanks, Pad," it grumbled, pushing itself up. Alright, there was no way that was a pearl. In fact, it almost sounded like…

The thing turned around, and their gazes locked.

"What the — " it yelped. Before Zircon could act, it reached to its — to its hair? — and pulled out an oddly-shaped metal club.

"You're the human!" Zircon cried.

The only problem being its coloration. From what she could remember, the human had been an odd shade of orange. This "Lars" was pink. But it didn't deny it, just glared.

"Yeah, I'm 'the human' — and you're that blue moon lawyer-thing! Oh, just so you know, you pissed off those Diamond ladies and almost got me and Steven killed."

Blue moon lawyer-thing? Steven? Pissed off? Zircon wasn't sure what "pissed" was, but the meaning was clear enough. "I — what are you doing here?"

Before the Lars could answer, the sapphire gasped. "Oh no! When we break through the window, we will find an old enemy of Lars!"

"What — I'm not an enemy!"

"Really?" asked the sapphire, perfectly sincere. Then the Lars lowered its club and put its hand on her shoulder.

"Pad, we have to go," it told the sapphire. "We're not here for her. Get on my back."

As disconnected as the sapphire seemed, she understood the Lars' command, and when Lars knelt, she held on tight to its back and they set off to the door. But only as they disappeared into the corridor, a realization hit Zircon.

"Wait!" she yelped. "I need to know what happened to — "

She never finished. Right before she burst out into the corridor, a horde of raspberry quartzes stampeded past — close enough that Zircon felt the wind. The head Raspberry Quartz's words came back in sudden clarity: "Stay here, or I'll bash your skull in with your own feet."

So she sat. She picked a different recovery cot, as her original one was covered in glass shards. It was probably for the best…the trained patrol quartzes probably had a better chance of finding two intruders than Zircon did. As soon as Cranberry Tourmaline and Raspberry Quartz returned, Zircon could ask to see and interrogate the Lars creature —

That was when the door opened again. It was neither Cranberry nor Raspberry — for that matter, the quartzes who entered weren't even pink. They were blue quartzes. Aqua aura quartzes, imperial soldiers, closest to Blue Diamond, each wearing a mirrored gold visor. Some scattered throughout the recovery bay, overturning cots and gutting supply cabinets; two headed straight for Zircon.

"Wait, what are you doing?" was all Zircon could get out. Two aqua quartzes grabbed her arms and pulled her off her cot. "I — ah — I have been granted asylum by Blue Diamond, I demand that you let me speak to this facility's tourmaline — "

"Cranberry Tourmaline has been deemed unsuitable for service. We'll be your escorts from now on."

Zircon wasn't sure which one had spoken. But the voice was laced with ice, and sent a chill down Zircon's spine.

She wanted to ask if it had anything to do with Rose Quartz's pink human and the orange sapphire…or the conversation Cranberry had pulled Raspberry Quartz out for. She had seemed unusually on-edge, as if someone had just found out a terrible secret…

Zircon wanted to ask so many questions. It was, like she'd told Yellow Zircon, written in her gem, and it had never been so pertinent until now. Things were fitting together, just out of reach…just outside protocol.

It occurred to her like a chill down the spine: perhaps, to get what she wanted, she could no longer play by the rules.

* * *

 **aaaand there goes the berry team again**

 **they will be back! as will lars and paddy! EVERYONE IS COMING BACK!**

 **(except shadow agate)**  
 **(maybe. who knows)**


	9. Chapter 9

The escort of aqua quartzes whisked Zircon out of Cranberry Tourmaline's post with dizzying speed (she had a sinking feeling she would never be returned to their custody). She was dragged to one transport, then pushed through a processing chamber, locked inside one cell and then taken out to another transport. At some point — she wasn't sure when — a quartz fastened Zircon's hands in front of her with tight handcuffs, the metal buzzing with electricity. She knew enough about them to not resist; these were used on violent criminals. If she pulled too hard, the cuffs would act as a destabilizer and poof her instantly.

To add insult to injury, when she tried to regenerate her jacket and cravat, one of the quartzes told her to stop. Zircon wanted so badly to argue, but she was walking a thin line as it was. So she sat. Bare-armed, humiliated, docile. Somehow it was worse than being dirty and barefoot on the streets.

 _Stars. If Yellow were to see me like this, she'd never let me hear the end of it._

Fortunately, Yellow Zircon was nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, when the quartzes shuffled her off the transport and into an anteroom, Zircon locked gazes with a teal zircon. She'd had a cubby several rows down from Zircon's, and they didn't know each other too well, but the teal zircon's eyes widened when seeing her. Blue Diamond's immediate court might have been sworn to total silence in asylum cases…but the accessory court was not. By no means would it get out to Yellow Diamond; too many rules against that. But the zircons' cubby complex would have a lot to talk about tonight.

Zircon waited in the anteroom with the aqua quartzes for about an hour before an indicolite tourmaline pointed her to a meeting room. Then she was left alone.

The meeting room was freezing, cold, and large. Just like Cranberry Tourmaline's office, the ceiling and walls seemed to stretch out forever, but this place was blue. Zircon sat in a chair that seemed to have been manufactured for a slightly smaller gem, as it dug into the curve of her back and let her knees jut out over the edge. With no other sensory input, the constant vibrating of the destabilizer cuffs began to irk her.

She had just begun trying to plan what she would say when a pearl warped into the room.

"All rise for the lustrous — " Blue Pearl began, but then she stopped. "Oh."

"Heh," was all Zircon could say. She had begun to sweat again, but this time, there was no padded jacket to absorb the liquid. She tried to smile.

Predictably, Blue Pearl didn't smile back. "Okay," she said, and curtsied. A second later, Blue Diamond arrived behind her. She wore her cloak over her head and took it off when she stepped forward. The remnants of old tears stained her flushed cheeks.

Instinctively, Zircon stood and snapped into a salute — and then regretted it as her wrists pulled the cuffs and they shocked her dizzy.

She was pretty sure she fell, because the next thing she remembered, Blue Pearl was helping her up and leading her back to her chair. Zircon was blabbering without thinking. "I — uh — I'm terribly sorry, my Diamond, you see, though I'm sure these restraints are — "

"Pearl, take them off." Blue Diamond didn't look down at Zircon, only summoned a throne and sat. Obediently, Pearl tapped the cuffs on Zircon's hands and pulled them away, leaving her to rub her sore wrists.

"Th — thank you, my Diamond." Blue Diamond didn't ask Zircon to stand again, which was nice, because if she stood she might just keel over again. "I, um, I understand that you — that you accepted my request of asylum…"

"I did." Blue Diamond's voice was soft, reserved. No sign of guile or hidden anger. She met Zircon's gaze for a second before looking down at her clasped hands. "I...regret agreeing to your sentence. But Yellow insisted. It wouldn't be good to have another rebellion on our hands; she didn't want to risk it…I hope you understand my decision."

An execution to prevent insurgency; for the good of all gemkind and all that — what defense zircon hadn't heard it a thousand times? Zircon bit her tongue. "I understand, my Diamond."

"Do you?"

The question surprised both of them, as if unbidden. Off script. Blue Diamond's gaze flickered as the words slipped out of her mouth. Then, she seemed to silently decide, and continued.

"Do you understand," she whispered, "what treason truly means?"

Zircon hesitated. If she had her screen, she could pull up a definition, but that probably wasn't what Blue Diamond wanted to hear. "With all due respect, my Diamond, I'm not sure if I understand the question."

"It means that someone hated Pink Diamond," said Blue Diamond, her hands and voice trembling. "Do you know what that's like? To know that someone hated her so much that — that they would want to take her away from us forever? When she didn't deserve any of it? No. No, what am I saying? You couldn't know. Yellow was wrong; you could never understand."

Her eyes began to well with tears — and then, so did Zircon's. For a second, she was filled with a terrible, painful emptiness, as if the center of her gem had been carved out. Then the sensation faded. Blue Diamond met her gaze again.

"Do you really believe it?" she asked, almost timidly. "That one of us broke her?"

"N — no! I would never question you; I just got ahead of myself; I didn't really mean…" Zircon blustered, her throat tightening, but the hurt on Blue Diamond's face only deepened. As if she had expected to be lied to again, but just felt worse when she was.

Zircon tried to swallow, and braced herself for the worst.

"Yes," she said. "I do."

Blue Diamond blinked, letting another glistening tear roll down her cheek. She didn't say anything, but Zircon again felt tears forming at the edges of her own eyes and it was all she needed to know. She wiped them away.

"B — but it's only one theory," Zircon added hastily. "There are a lot of reasons why Rose Quartz would have been framed. There could have been infighting among the rebels, or even a rebel faction operating from Homeworld, perhaps wanting to deflect attention. And there's many reasons why those would be covered up. I...didn't think of any of those at the time. But with the information we have, the most probable suspect is someone Pink Diamond would trust, and someone who had enough influence to, ah, sweep this under the table until now."

Blue Diamond didn't respond, only stared. Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, as if trying to form words that never made it.

Then she looked over at her pearl, and reached out her hand. Zircon flinched, but Blue Diamond just let Blue Pearl sit on her palm. "Pearl, how much time do we have?"

She set the tiny pearl on the armrest of her throne. For a second, Zircon wondered morbidly what would happen if Blue Diamond left Blue Pearl there, then forgot about her and tried to put her arm down. But she didn't bring that up. Blue Pearl clasped her hands.

"Three minutes remain, my Diamond."

"Then we don't have much time."

She looked down to Zircon again, the attention feeling very much like a spotlight. Sweat trickled down her neck.

"Zircon. Listen carefully. I have to go, but…" Blue Diamond hesitated, and glanced over her shoulder as if someone was watching. Then she shook her head. "I'm going to ask you of something that is very close to treason. But Yellow and I need this. I…I need you to spy on her."

"M — my Diamond — "

"Until we know the answer," Blue Diamond continued, "we need to keep this between as few gems as possible. We cannot afford to hire another undercover gem, at risk of her slipping this secret, but I am lending you my pearl and the captain of my guard to assist you. They will give you a disguise and take you as far as Yellow's office. I need you to find her, and listen while she is alone. Find out what she knows."

Zircon's gem had gone cold. Blue Diamond suspected Yellow Diamond? It was the last thing she had expected — and it went entirely against investigation and retrial protocol. "My Diamond, with all due respect," Zircon stammered, saluting hurriedly, "shouldn't we double-check the records first, or at the very least confer with Rose Quartz before starting any new investigations? Or — if it has anything to do with anything — could I, ah, be informed as to what happened with the one cranberry tourmaline who — "

Blue Diamond hushed her with a look, but her gaze wavered. "We don't have time," was all she said, before standing. "I have to leave. I trust you, my Zircon. I hope that you do not disappoint me."

And just as soon as she had come, Blue Diamond warped out of the room, leaving Zircon and Blue Pearl behind.

* * *

 **yeah blue diamond you're not acting suspicious at fuckin all. wonder why she's so tense hmmmmm**

 ** **disclaimer a large part of the inspo for this chapter came from molded-from-clay on tumblr, in specific their zircon comic****

 **ANYWAY! to business. there will be no new chapter next week because 1.) i'll be out of the country, hence completely offline, and 2.) i need time to catch up. i'm actually buffering this fic, i'm writing chapter 11 right now! still, it's getting a little close for comfort. so just to let you know. hoping on the next chapter being up around july 30/31.**

 **as always i accept discussion, analysis, submissions etc on my tumblr! thx guys ur the best**


	10. Chapter 10

When Blue Diamond left, Zircon was alone with Blue Pearl for about a quarter of a second.

Then, on the other side of the meeting room, a warp pad flashed and gave way to an aqua aura quartz — one that looked almost identical to the ones who had escorted Zircon here, complete with the smooth white hair, the cerulean blue skin, and the opaque gold visor over her eyes. The only difference was her long navy cape.

"What is it," thought Zircon, "with high military and capes?"

But she didn't say that, and the aqua aura quartz didn't say anything at all. She just strode forward, her boots heavy against the floor, and grabbed Zircon by the arm. One hand easily wrapped around Zircon's entire bicep, wide enough to snap it if she just squeezed. Her thigh alone was larger than Blue Pearl's entire body — a difference that Blue Pearl seemed very aware of, as she trailed a good few feet behind and out of Aqua Aura's way. Zircon gulped.

They had already passed the anteroom door, so they couldn't be returning to where Zircon had come from. When the next exit point slid open, it led down a wide corridor.

"Wh — where are you taking me?" she dared to ask.

"To be outfitted," was all Aqua Aura said. Which didn't exactly answer Zircon's questions.

The rest of the time was stiflingly silent. The corridor took them to a lift, which took them to a hangar, which took them to a transport, which took them to another corridor — but this one dark in theme, with only the floor lit white. There was no sound except the hum of plasma power and, somewhere deep in the bowels of the building, a gem screaming. Or at least that's what it sounded like.

At an intersection, Blue Pearl took the lead. She led them down a corridor entrance and punched a long, rapid string of codes into the door panel — Aqua Aura spun Zircon around before she could see Blue Pearl type the last few. Not that Zircon would have remembered all of it anyway.

Eventually, Aqua Aura let her turn around again and led her into the dark room. But then, just as they stepped through the threshold, Aqua Aura let go of Zircon's arm.

That alone should have been enough to tip Zircon off, but for some reason, she kept walking forward. Until she couldn't. Then, her feet met empty air and her head met a sharp part of the ground and she was tumbling down what felt to be stairs until she was flat on her face, her nose in some deal of pain.

"Careful," said Blue Pearl.

As Zircon pushed herself up, groaning and trying to think of an appropriately ill-mannered response, the lights flicked on. She was in the center of a white room, surrounded on all sides by concentric rings of steps — wide and flat enough for a gem to lay on, but shallow enough to descend easily. It gave Zircon the unnerving impression of being inside an arena. Except the only spectators were Aqua Aura and Blue Pearl, stepping down into the center circle. Zircon scrambled to her feet. Neither said anything; Blue Pearl stood silently to the side and Aqua Aura summoned a high-backed chair for herself.

Pulling a screen from her visor, the quartz said flatly, "I presume that isn't your base form."

Zircon's first response was about to be an indignant, "Excuse me?" until she remembered. She was virtually naked. Hastily, Zircon shifted on her jacket and cravat at last, grateful for the familiar weight on her shoulders. "Ah...no, of course not," she blustered. "You see, I was told — "

"I don't care." Aqua started scrolling through something on her screen. "Your records state that your Libra account was terminated when you were sent to harvesting. I don't suppose you have your screens, either."

Her monocle. Stars, how she missed it. "It was damaged in my escape. B — but the next time I reform, I can access the data in my gem and create a new one."

"Average recuperation time."

"Er...what about it?"

"That was a question, Zircon."

Oh. Well, in Zircon's defense, Aqua Aura suffered from a chronic monotone, failing to inflect on any word except the ones she wanted to sound like insults — case in point, Zircon's own name. She wisely chose not to mention this.

"Ah...two days, on average."

"Too long." Aqua Aura's lips pressed together. Then she stopped on a file on her screen, turned her head to Zircon (blast that enigmatic gold visor), then looked back. "Take off your head covering."

Now she couldn't stop herself. "Excuse me?!"

"I didn't consent to this mission because I wanted a TRIAL, Zircon," Aqua Aura snarled. "Now you do as you're told, and hold your tongue."

Her voice never raised in volume, but after she finished, it still echoed in the room. Her throat dry, Zircon nodded and pulled off her headscarf. The stiff, carefully molded fabric vanished in her hands, and her pale curls flopped into her eyes. She didn't push them away. Somehow, she felt if she moved a muscle, Aqua Aura would find some reason to put her in another bubble.

Still — Aqua Aura couldn't read her thoughts. And Zircon's thoughts went somewhere along the lines of "My own dislike of this mission is growing stronger by the second."

"Pearl," said Aqua Aura, "Retrieve items 47AA6 and 47BC2."

Blue Pearl curtsied, then made her way up four steps, around one ring, and to the left of Zircon. Then she knelt. The step in front of her slid out like a drawer and Pearl pulled out something small and shiny. She hid the first object in her hands, but when she climbed up to another drawer, Zircon caught a quick glimpse of it. A pale, familiar yellow. As Blue Pearl presented the objects to her, Zircon's suspicions were confirmed.

The first was a yellow monocle, and the second was a yellow zircon's headscarf.

"Put them on. No questions," Aqua Aura cut in, just as Zircon was about to ask a question. Grumbling internally, Zircon let Blue Pearl hold the monocle as she examined the headscarf. The folding wasn't hard. She'd seen plenty of yellow zircons doing their scarves before. But around the collar, hemmed into the supple material, was a thin metal band with a clip — that was different. It pressed into her neck, stiff and unforgiving; it almost felt like it was vibrating…

The purpose was clear when she looked down. Her hands, her appearance modifiers, and her gem were...yellow.

"Oh, stars," Zircon murmured.

"The collar in the fabric," explained Aqua Aura, "modifies the wavelengths that your light-form projects. In your case, it lengthens the short blue waves into longer, yellow waves. This is of utmost importance to your mission, as you will be infiltrating Yellow Diamond's court. You need to look the part. If you check the provided screen, you will see that we have prepared a new Libra account, false identification, and a fake case for you to reference."

Blue Pearl gave Zircon the yellow monocle, and she carefully set it over her right eye. The color change was disorienting, to say the least. And the code at the top read "Hyacinth Zircon 1J2K.8BN". But everything was there. Reset to default orientation, sure, so it was hard to navigate, but every app she could possibly need was present. Aqua Aura kept talking. She'd probably keep talking for a while now, Zircon mused.

She opened up the voice recording app and turned it on.

Once it started recording, Zircon looked Aqua Aura straight in the visor and pretended she was listening. Then she opened up the archives on her monocle, checked for updates, and was pleased to find that everything was up-to-date. Every Libra account had an archive. With it, she could search up the type, facet, and cut of any gem and find their criminal history. She wasn't sure about non-gems...but she reasoned she would burn that bridge when she got to it.

"Rose Quartz" was the first thing she searched. Several thousand results, sorted by relevance. Predictably, the top result was the one she was looking for — complete with the updated picture. Pathetically small, disproportionately large eyes and head, her gem covered by appearance modifiers, some kind of cartilage around the head-holes. Her infractions list was several pages long; Zircon had seen all of that before.

At the far bottom was a very familiar item.

 _Admittance to Supreme Court Against Blue and Yellow Diamond. Defended by Starlite Zircon 1D7B.7EA (Libra profile terminated). Results: pending._

Zircon's eyebrows shot up. Across the room, Aqua Aura stopped talking.

"Is there a problem?" the quartz asked coldly.

"No," Zircon lied. "Please continue."

Aqua Aura's lips tightened, but she continued. Zircon looked again at the file on her monocle. Profile terminated. Results pending. So they'd updated Rose Quartz's record to add Zircon being sentenced to shatter row...but pending results meant that there was no verdict. Rose Quartz was still technically on trial. They could have imprisoned her and left her to wait, but wait for what? And if she was being held, someone would have mentioned it in the footnotes…

Returning to the archive menu, Zircon tentatively searched "Human". No matches. "Color-changing human" didn't do anything either. "Lars" was equally unhelpful.

But "defective orange sapphire" gave her something. One, a padparadscha sapphire, stood out — her records were spotty, the input dates were all missing or nonsensical, and her status was labeled simply "missing". The only thing that Zircon could make out of them was that the sapphire suffered from dimensionally misaligned future vision — she could only ever predict events that had just happened. Just like the little orange sapphire who rode on the Lars' back.

An idea sparked in the back of her head, like an itch that she couldn't scratch. She returned to the search bar.

 _Cranberry Tourmaline, 2.8J9P._

 _Infractions: Occasional tardiness; suspected fraternizing with Raspberry Quartz 4H99.1CL. Charges dismissed by manager._

 _Promoted to patrol manager under probation. Probation dismissed after one millennium._

 _Formation of a noncombatant permafusion with 4H99.1CL. Confirmed by two independent eyewitnesses._

 _Violent resistance against intervention officers._

 _Escaped Facility 8LP with 4H99.1CL and two unidentified assailants._

 _Status: Missing._

Involuntarily, Zircon's hand went up to her mouth. Everything made sense, but nothing made sense — the two assailants had to be the Lars and the sapphire. And if the human was free, Rose Quartz had to be involved...and after all, Rose Quartz had great sympathies for permafusions. Zircon wasn't sure what to think of the fact that Cranberry Tourmaline and Raspberry Quartz had been on that close of terms, but with a little thought, she realized that made sense after all. The subtle hand-holding when they were distressed. Cranberry had probably pulled Raspberry out of the recovery bay to fuse, or alternatively, because she knew their secret was blown. Four hours later, the Lars and the sapphire came to help Cranberry and Raspberry to escape...and narrowly missed capture by the imperial aqua aura quartzes who escorted Zircon later.

But Rose Quartz was still a blank. In fact, it was even bigger now — was she still in the Authority's grasp or not? She had displayed a frustrating lack of self-preservation in that trial; perhaps she had made a deal to let the Lars human go free in exchange for continuing the trial.

But that still didn't make sense. If the trial was still in session, and there were no notes that it had been paused, Blue and Yellow Diamond would never have left the courtroom. Yet she had spoken to Blue Diamond not an hour ago —

"Zircon."

She snapped to attention. Aqua Aura still wore that visor, but Zircon could almost feel her gaze.

"Do you understand what you are doing?" asked Aqua Aura.

Zircon swallowed. Her first thought had been a blatant no. Sure, she had the recording of Aqua Aura's instructions...but those wouldn't be difficult. That wasn't what she didn't understand.

"Yes," she lied, her tongue dry.

* * *

 **aaaand there you have it, the next big arc of de facto begins! and also im leaving again for the better part of two weeks on a mission trip to first nations kids in canada which i am SUPER SUPER excited about**

 **the next time i update this will be two weeks from wednesday, august 18! that's also my first day of school but that's useless trivia**

 **anyway please let me know what you liked here and what you want to see**


	11. Chapter 11

Yellow Diamond's office complex was the tallest building in the west sectors of Facet One — but until she got there, Zircon hadn't understood exactly what that meant. Now, she stared up at the mirrored spires, knowing she shouldn't gawk, but awestruck anyway.

She was alone. Alone with her monocle, her disguise, and a tiny earpiece through which Aqua Aura and Blue Pearl could speak. Currently, Zircon sat on a transport of primarily yellow, middle-class gems (squished between a topaz and a citrine), feeling very conspicuous — despite the fact that she was just another speck of gold in a sea.

Her projected screen was open to her fake case, but her real information was on her monocle. The fake case went as so: she was a newly-made prosecutor commissioned privately by a high-ranking golden beryl, arranging a case against a coworker stationed in Yellow Diamond's complex.

The real information wasn't so simple. First, Blue Pearl had provided a universal access code shared between the Diamonds, hidden so that Zircon couldn't copy or memorize it, but which would allow her into any place that Yellow or Blue Diamond could go — which was everywhere. Then there were the mission details, written by Blue Diamond herself. Enter Yellow's complex. Gain access to her private wing. Report back anything you hear or see. Apparently, Yellow Diamond was religious about banning technology from her quarters, so planting a camera or microphone was out of the question. Zircon had to eavesdrop the old-fashioned way. If she was caught…

Part of her was reminded of Blue Diamond's wish: to keep this between as few gems as possible. The other part of her thought, "This is no job for a zircon. This WILL be the end of me."

She stared at the last item in her personal notes.

 _The more confident you act, the less you'll stand out._

A drop of sweat rolled down her chin. Right. Easier said than done.

The transport stopped, the doors slid open, and all at once the passengers began filing out, sweeping Zircon out on a wave of yellow. Then she froze. Yellow, green, orange, and red gems swarmed in all directions; technicians huddled around power hubs; troops of rubies marched in double-file lines; agates yelled and transport conductors yelled louder. It was far cry from the zircons' somber transport stop and a whole world away from Blue Diamond's deserted station. Suddenly, her nerves tripled.

In her right ear, there was a soft "ping" as someone signed in. The voice was Aqua Aura's.

"Walk straight until you reach entrance 45," she ordered. "There will be an aragonite there to check you in."

Zircon obeyed silently. She held her breath as she waited in the line, and swore her gem went cold as the bored-looking aragonite accepted her access code, but nothing bad happened. She was pointed towards a lift, which brought her up seventeen levels into a large, well-lit foyer — crawling with more yellow gems. Now, it was just technical gems like herself.

Maybe this wasn't too hard.

Aqua Aura continued speaking, directing Zircon through access points and higher up into Yellow Diamond's tower. With each level, the population grew sparser and more specific. Level seventeen was just technical gems, level thirty-one just yellow technical gems, fifty-two just yellow "upper-crust" technical gems, seventy-six yellow "upper-crust" technical gems sent on behalf of a commissioner. She saw three different gems on this floor. This was where Aqua Aura wished her luck, and then fell silent. A soft cough came instead

"Um," Blue Pearl said. Zircon stood in a corner of the main foyer, her fake case open like she was studying something. She wanted to tell Blue Pearl to hurry up, but couldn't speak at risk of disturbing the silence. She tapped her foot. At a reception desk across the foyer, a honey tourmaline glared at her.

"Go to north hall," she finally said. "There are service stairs."

There were. North hall was empty, so Zircon wasted no time in scanning her universal access code and slipping through. The stairs were empty as well — who used stairs these days, anyway?

"Now go up sixteen and a half floors."

Zircon did a double take. "Excuse me?"

"Sixteen and a half," Blue Pearl repeated.

"Okay," said Zircon, thinking some not-very-nice things, and began climbing.

After sixteen, she climbed up a half-flight, exactly eight steps, and stopped on the ninth. Nothing happened. "Well?" Zircon said impatiently, and was met with six seconds of silence.

Then Blue Pearl said, "This is where I have to leave you now. Once you ascend this last half-flight, you will enter Yellow Diamond's executive floors, where any unauthorized electronic signals will be blocked. You will have to go completely offline. So you must remember what I tell you now."

Zircon swallowed. Right. This was the hard part. "I'm listening."

"Use the service stairs until you reach the top floor. Then, use the universal access code on the door. It will take you to a hallway. The lift you are looking for is the biggest one under the glass dome. No one will be in Yellow Diamond's office. There is a panel along the west wall marked with a star near the floor. If you press it in, you should be able to slip behind the wall, into a small cabinet."

"Excuse me."

"Yes?"

"Can you tell me why on earth Yellow Diamond would build that into her private office?"

"She didn't," said Blue Pearl matter-of-factly. "Her bismuth did. One who rebelled. It is large enough to fit one pearl. The Crystal Gems used it for intelligence during the war…Aqua Aura found out and told my Diamond, but they never told Yellow. I think we have always suspected her…"

Blue Pearl trailed off, never finishing the explanation. "You have to go," she said. "Before she returns. I am signing off now."

"Wait, once I'm done, how do I leave — "

The other end went dead. Zircon stared at the call screen, her voice petering out weakly. When she tried to call back, her number was blocked.

 _Oh, stars._

Her hands shaking, she switched off her external communications, leaving only the barest functions of her monocle — audio and visual recording, her identification files, a notepad, the access code. She was really alone now...

Zircon began to climb.

It took fourteen flights to reach the top, but that wasn't even the hard part. The hardest part was getting her hands to stop trembling long enough to open the access code and transfer it to the door, then the paralyzing three seconds as the system checked it.

When the door slid open, she nearly collapsed. But she couldn't do that, so she held herself up on the doorframe as she stepped inside and looked around. She was in a long curving corridor, with painfully steep floors, cielings tall enough for the Diamonds, and towering doors that looked like they could eat her alive.

Everything was empty. As quiet as she tried to be, Zircon's footsteps echoed as she slinked through the halls. The only sounds.

After what had to be a few more flights of running in circles, Zircon came to a centrum, flanked on all sides by columns and huge double doors. The ceiling was a glass dome. The largest doors opened at her access code, and she stepped inside the lift.

"This is it," Zircon whispered softly.

It felt, rather than Zircon stepping out of the lift, like the office was drawing her in with the sheer elegance of it all. It was simple as any yellow gem's would be, but the size — the brilliance — the splendor alone made Zircon's gem warm. About twenty feet above Zircon, the golden walls turned to glass, shooting upward in needle-thin panes to a single spire point far above her head. It was well known that Yellow Diamond moved faster than technology, so Zircon wasn't surprised to see that she had no desk; only a single hovering lounge chair, raised about fifteen feet from the ground with a pyramid of stairs. There was no other furniture. No other hiding places, except the hidden cabinet.

At once, Zircon was on the floor, searching around the metal paneling for the symbol Blue Pearl had mentioned — a star? It had to be here somewhere. But if it had gone unnoticed for five thousand years, it had to be very well hidden...it wasn't like the flat, glittering metal sections of the wall had anywhere that you could hide a carved star. She ran her hand across the metal, feeling for indentations that she had perhaps missed.

She made it halfway around the circular room. Half of the walls had no star. That being said, it likely comes to no surprise that her hands were getting much too sweaty to rub against the walls.

 _Novas above. Oh, dear stars. Please let the hidden cabinet be on the other side._

But it didn't take her long to confirm what she somehow already knew. The star was nowhere to be found. And if the star had been removed…it couldn't have taken long to find the hidden cabinet —

"That won't be necessary, Pearl."

The voice was like a destabilizer right against her gem. Sharp, authoritative, far away and muffled under the floor. But unmistakeable.

 _Yellow Diamond._

Before Zircon knew what she was doing, she was running. There was no time to double check for a hidden cabinet. She dove behind the dais and stairs, huddling on the ground. If someone were to sit on the lounge chair above and look onto that side, she would be visible for sure — but it was all she had for now. No alibi, no weapon, no support. Just herself, her luck, her hiding place…and Yellow Diamond.

Her gem was cold. As she registered the sound of a lift entering the office, she felt as if it was stiff enough to crack. And even though she was too scared to move, tears began to form.

"I'm going to be shattered," she thought. "And all I can do about it is wait."

* * *

 **i didn't plan to update because im still in Canada right now, but I had a little time to pound out, oh, like 5 chapters and rough thumbnails for a storyboard of chapter 1 BUT ANYWAY long story short i miss this story and i want you all to communicate with me about it**

 **hopefully i'll be able to post the next chapter in a timely manner but that depends entirely on how many screams i get on this chapter**


	12. Chapter 12

The lift rose into the office, and heavy footsteps rattled Zircon's teeth. She couldn't think, couldn't move. She'd long lost control of her body — tears and sweat comingled on her cheeks, and she wasn't sure if she could've spoken even if she wanted to. Yellow Diamond was here. And from the sound of it, she was going to the dais and her chair.

"With all due respect, my luminous Diamond," said a pearl's voice, "but you specifically requested that I remind you to take a break in two rotations. It's been exactly two rotations and seventeen minutes."

"Two rotations ago, I did not have six incompetent managers on my hands."

The steps to Zircon's back shuddered as Yellow Diamond stepped up them, a small _tap, tap_ echoing in response as Yellow Pearl scurried after her. When Zircon looked up, she saw Yellow Diamond sit in her lounge chair and pull up a wide array of yellow screens. One floated twenty feet above Zircon's head.

"My Diamond," Yellow Pearl replied, "you told me to tell you that there are no exceptions. You need to rest."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, my Diamond, you do."

"I don't. I understand I gave you orders. But I'm giving you new ones now — stop trying to take care of me."

From the silence, Yellow Pearl didn't seem to like this. But she gave a begrudging "Yes, my Diamond."

Five minutes passed of more silence, broken only by the quiet tapping of Yellow Diamond's fingers against screens. Then Yellow Pearl said, "My Diamond?"

"What is it?"

"Five rotations ago, you met with a yellow sapphire. She predicted that you would need a break at 38:02 on this day."

"This is pertinent because why?"

"It is 38:02, my Diamond."

"No, Pearl. I'm not tired. Go back to your tasks."

"Yes, my Diamond."

Yellow Pearl went quiet. The rhythmic tapping resumed. About fifteen minutes later, Yellow Pearl again reminded Yellow Diamond that she needed a break. Yellow Diamond, again, dismissed it.

This went on for six hours.

The whole time, Zircon stayed at the base of the dais, frozen solid with only one hope — that Yellow Diamond did not look down to her left. But she seemed to have no intention of it; Zircon couldn't even see her face from where she sat. And if Zircon couldn't see Yellow Diamond's eyes, Yellow Diamond wouldn't see her either. Her muscles relaxed minutely — the ones that could. She was still in the awkward crouching position, putting a terrible strain on her ankles and back. She wondered how long she would have to stay there before something happened. Only about three hours ago had she remembered to open her screens and start recording...not like it mattered, anyway. Who was Blue Diamond kidding? It wasn't like Yellow Diamond would waltz into her office and start giving her life story through song for all to hear; all she did was talk about how clearly not tired she was. This mission was pointless…

A screen pinged. "My Diamond," said Yellow Pearl, "there is a message from Blue Diamond."

"Read it."

" ' _My dearest Yellow. I know you will not receive this well. My sapphire tells me you will not respond at all. But I am still distressed about the trial, and need to speak with you. Pink Di — ' "_

"That's enough, Pearl."

The tonal shift was more like a snap, with Yellow Diamond's voice going from lethargic to almost panicked. Zircon's eyes widened. Yellow Pearl sensed the tension just as well, and her voice went high and shaky.

"Delete the message," ordered Yellow Diamond, her voice trembling. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Y — yes, my Diamond."

A few more taps. Then, another mighty sigh.

"I can't understand her," said Yellow Diamond. "I just...I can't. She knows what I think. I have been as honest with her as possible — the most practical solution here is to forget it and move on. So her feelings were hurt when we shattered that zircon! Well, what does she expect, that I'm just going to let that little thing run free, telling all of Homeworld that — that I — "

She stopped. Zircon's eyes were wide.

"M...my Diamond?"

It was then that Zircon noticed the sound. The soft, but sharp breaths. For a few moments, they stopped, as if Yellow Diamond was trying to hold them in — but only to return. She was…

Yellow Diamond was...crying.

A soft _pat, pat, pat_ interrupted the sharp breaths, like Yellow Pearl climbing the stairs. Zircon only saw Yellow Diamond reach down, and she couldn't see it, but she could imagine Pearl stepping up to the dais, Yellow Diamond picking Pearl up in her palm, Pearl touching Yellow Diamond's cheek or her hand, trying to console her. "If you need, I can cancel the meeting in ten minutes…"

Yellow Diamond hesitated. "Alright. That's...that's fine. Cancel it."

Several taps on a screen. Yellow Diamond let out a long sigh. Then, a humorless chuckle.

"You really do try, Pearl. Thank you. But...you could never understand. You know this."

"I do know, my Diamond. If you would like, I can pretend that I understand."

Another sigh. "Humor me."

"Yes, my Diamond. Ahem, hem. Do not cry. It will be alright. There, there."

Another chuckle. Maybe that one had a little happiness in it. Just a sliver. "Never mind, Pearl. I just need...I don't know. Maybe I should go to that meeting. I only ever get like this when I'm idle. I cannot dwell too much in it. Blue practically swims in it, that's her problem — that's why she doesn't get anything done!"

Yellow Diamond's voice rose, but even though it tried to be angry, something else trembled just below the surface. Zircon found herself biting her own lip.

"She's just hurting herself by thinking of it more!" Yellow Diamond ranted. "By — by dwelling on some, some cracked theory from an overcooked zircon — what did she think was going to happen? That listening any more to that clod would make her feel happy again? She looked us in our eyes, Pearl — she looked at us and she told us that we shattered our Pink! MY Pink!"

The name echoed. It was the only sound in the office. Then, the crying came again, choked and half-restrained. "No, no, no," was all Yellow Diamond could say for a while. She sniffled. "I can't do this. I need to work."

She inhaled, then let out a bitter, barking laugh.

"As if that would help," she said. "It never did. I do this all the time, burying myself in work, and I think I am acting so much more mature than Blue...but sometimes I wonder. If I am the one hurting myself more."

Silence. Not even Yellow Pearl knew what to say.

"I don't even know why I try," whispered Yellow Diamond. "I'll never understand. Why, how she was shattered. It's so much simpler to blame it on one gem, and sweep her under the rug like nothing happened. It just...it hurts. It hurts more than you could know, Pearl."

Again, there was nothing. Then Zircon saw Yellow Diamond lift Yellow Pearl onto the armrest of the chair, letting the pearl sit and rest her head on Yellow Diamond's arm. And while it was sweet, it caused a small jump of panic — if Pearl just turned her head, she could see Zircon.

 _I have to get out of here._

A notification pinged on one of the floating screens, and with a last, mighty sigh, Yellow Diamond opened it. "Eight hundred six messages. What a surprise," she said dryly. "All of them urgent. Pick your favorite, Pearl."

"I like the one with the blue-and-gold icon. It's cute."

"Read it."

The screen floated down to Pearl, and out of sight. Presumably, Pearl was opening it.

 _" 'An auto-generated summons request. Aqua Aura Quartz (Facet 1A1C, Cut 2JD) requests immediate private audience with the luminous Yellow Diamond. The meeting will take approximately ten minutes. Sent five minutes ago.' "_

 _Aqua Aura._

Oh, no.

"Blue's highest general," said Yellow Diamond, her tone suddenly back to cold. "She hasn't sent her to me since the war…"

"My Diamond, the notes say that the quartz came on her own. Blue Diamond didn't send her."

"Let her in."

A few minutes later, Zircon's collar was soaked in sweat and the room echoed with the sound of the lift. Military boots pounded against the floor. A familiar, resonant voice cut the petrifying silence.

"Your grand radiance, pardon my interruption. But this matter requires your immediate concern."

"I will be the judge of that," said Yellow Diamond. "What is it?"

Even after the subtle threat, Aqua Aura's monotone stayed unwaveringly calm. "Blue Diamond recently requested your presence, with the foreknowledge that you would reject the invitation. Her sapphire told her, as well, that it would make you rather upset."

Yellow Diamond shifted. "Get to the point, quartz."

"Your radiance, I have no wish to turn you against Blue Diamond. But I came to inform you that Blue Diamond's invitation was a calculated move. She suspects you of shattering Pink Diamond."

 _Oh. Oh, no._

"She wouldn't," snapped Yellow Diamond. Yellow Pearl jumped from her diamond's arm, just in time to avoid being knocked over as Yellow Diamond stood.

"SHE wouldn't. Not alone," continued Aqua Aura. "You know that Blue Diamond has always been gullible. I regret to inform you, then, that the one starlite zircon you ordered to be shattered is still alive — given asylum by your Blue. It is through no fault of Blue Diamond's. She's just foolish, and she believes that the zircon is right. She was tricked, your radiance."

 _Oh no, no, no._

"Well, what does this have to do with the invitation?"

"Have you received it?"

"I have."

A short silence, then Aqua Aura said, "Your radiance, Blue Diamond sent a spy to judge your reaction. Through Blue Diamond's pearl, I fed the spy false information about a hiding spot in this very office. That spy is the treasonous starlite zircon, and if I am right, she is hiding behind your dais right now."

 _NO —_

She was frozen. She couldn't do anything. Zircon wanted more than light itself to run, to blink and make it be just some terrifying daydream, but she couldn't do either. Somehow, it was too much to process. Too much to take. When Yellow Pearl whirled around and gasped, when Yellow Diamond's terrifying form blocked out the lights above, when that hand shot down again to surely crush her this time — Zircon couldn't lift a single finger to help herself.

And the world went dark.

* * *

 **the end :)**

 **man i'm so glad y'all stuck with me through this fic. wasn't really sure how to end it but hopefully that will suffice — IM JUST KIDDING IM TOTALLY KIDDING**

 **i'm seriously, totally kidding guys please don't kill me. there are at least 8 more chapters to go, maybe 10. we'll see. but i WONT end it like that.**

 **(or will i?)**

 **ANYWHO that's one of my favorite post-chapter 10 chapters, except for the one that comes right after this one. that one's obvious.**

 **but with this one, i also really enjoyed writing it — YD and YP are just so fun! even if they're ooc. i can't actually say what either of them are like when they're alone with each other; this is completely creative liberty. and for the record: if it seems like i am romanticizing master-slave relationships, i am VERY VERY SORRY. as i was writing this, it came out more as a harried boss-somewhat concerned secretary sort of dynamic, which fits with the fact that YD is absolutely stressed beyond measure and the implication that pearls are to make their diamonds comfortable in any way possible. i tried to stay away from anything risky but i also have no grounds to be ruling what is risky and what is respectful. please let me know if anything came off as insensitive, how to fix it, and i will be quick to amend that as soon as possible!**

 **thx guys, please leave comments** **and see you next chapter! also i may or may not be releasing an official de facto playlist at some point or another but who knows**


	13. Chapter 13

**i don't like doing beginning notes but**

 **THIS CHAPTER IS SO POINTLESS omg it's just. It's just cute dialogue but you guys have held on so tight with all this james bond-type nonsense so i think we all need a little pointless light dialogue. Think of it as kind of an antithesis to chapter 6**

 **anywho**

* * *

She wasn't broken. At least she knew that. If she was, she wouldn't be here — suspended in complete void, feeling nothing, hearing nothing, seeing nothing but her own naked, vulnerable form. Curled into the fetal position, her thin hands cupped over her gem.

Her gem. It was so funny, she thought, that she could see her gem while inside her gem. Objectively, she knew it was just a figment of her imagination. But it was still strange.

 _I was caught._

The thought sent a frisson of panic through her mind-space. Whatever had happened to her, she was helpless while she was still in her gem. At any moment, her mind-space might be shredded in a million, agonizing threads as her gem was shattered. All she knew was that she needed to reform. Couldn't rush it. But it needed to be soon.

She did the basic checks — face, four limbs, ten fingers, ten toes, pants shirt boots hood cravat okay that's good enough.

When she reached out, she felt no resistance, as she might in a bubble. Nothing. Free. She could move. She dropped to the floor, cold against her gloved hands. Her head shot up to take in her surroundings, but it was just an empty white room. There was one door, open and inviting.

In the back of her mind, she knew it was a trap. And yet, she ran to it anyway.

Zircon had barely taken two steps before her foot landed on a tile that glowed, and she found herself jerked three feet into the air. Coils of yellow energy wrapped around her whole body, suspending her above the floor. Squeezing her. Panicked, she jerked and struggled, but the coils just tightened, threatening to poof her again. Oh, that wouldn't do. Trembling, she tried to relax, and simply hung. Like helpless organic prey, waiting to be turned into dinner.

Who could relax like that?

She stiffened up again (or more) when she heard the footsteps. Sharp, light, quite unlike a quartz or agate's. Then the gem appeared in the door, languidly scrolling through a projected screen, carrying herself just as self-righteously as ever — and Zircon's jaw dropped.

 _"Yellow?!"_

Yellow Zircon glanced smugly at Blue, waving her hand to summon a chair from the floor. She made a "tsk, tsk" noise with her tongue as she sank into it. "Well. Don't _you_ look charming. Could you honestly have gotten more 'frack the Diamonds; I'm a rebel now' with that outfit?"

Zircon had been preparing a sharp retort, but the last part took her by surprise. She looked down. Past the coils of energy, she could just make out her new form — a sleeveless vest, navy elbow-length gloves, and matching knee-high boots. Yellow was right; it _was_ pretty daring. Like her body had accepted that she was a rebel before even she had.

At least she still had her little ruffly cravat. Stars, she loved that thing.

Trying to scrape together a modicum of dignity, Zircon lifted her head and glared down at Yellow. "What are you doing here? And for the record, where is 'here'?"

Yellow dismissed her screen and leaned casually on the armrest. "'Here' is the imperial prison, high-grade security wing. There are ten thousand tons of concrete between you and daylight; as well as hundreds of Homeworld's best ruby and quartz guards. I'm here because Yellow Diamond isn't stupid — she found that I had been in contact with you, from what you said to that tourmaline. Thanks."

The sarcasm was so thick that it dripped off and puddled on the floor. Zircon ignored it. "Is that really it?" she snapped. "You're just here to sit and gloat?"

"Of course not. I'm as much of a prisoner as you are."

"I'm hanging from the CEILING, Yellow! YOU can walk out that door!"

Yellow looked back at the open door, then rolled her eyes. "Someone emerged on the wrong side of the kindergarten," she muttered. Zircon ignored that, too.

"So you ARE here to gloat."

"I'm here to do a lot of things, actually," Yellow said, her signature snottiness returning. "One of which includes looking through your file. Ooh, you're a Starlite, I knew it. Little overcooked, weren't you?"

Zircon gritted her teeth. "No! I was heat-treated to refine my skillset for defense — "

"And somehow it got you in the slammer anyway. Pity. You would've been a cute brown," Yellow _tut-tutted_ again. "Speaking of which, I heard you went yellow for the spy mission, what was that all about?"

It sounded like a taunt at first, so Zircon had to take a deep breath and think of what she had to say — rather than just firing off the first response that came to mind, which happened to contain a few very impolite words. "I needed to gain access to the upper levels of Yellow Diamond's office building," she told Yellow. "I was given a new identity as a hyacinth zircon, and I wore a band that changed the wavelengths of my form."

"Clever."

They both went quiet, Yellow Zircon opening a new screen to scroll through, Blue Zircon hanging limply from the ceiling. It was then that she noticed, while reforming, her own monocle had returned. The bonds seemed to give off some sort of static that kept it nonfunctional, but at least she had it back. It was familiar. Funny how nothing was familiar anymore. Funny how "funny" meant "terribly, painfully lonely".

Impulsively, she asked Yellow, "What's it like now? Back at the complex?"

Yellow looked surprised at this, then shrugged. "I don't know. Same as always, almost. We all know what happened to you. The youngest zircons are still talking about it. But it's strange. You always were an odd one, you know."

"Thanks."

"I don't mean it in a bad way. I mean, a little different." Yellow's voice lost some of its usual, grating edge, until it was almost soft. "You're emotional. Sometimes we needed that. Like when 9FZ got so stressed that she poofed on the transport home, and you made yourself late to take her gem back safely. Or how you always forgot to clean up after yourself. Of course, the neat freaks hated that, but sometimes it was a little nice. Seeing your tablets all over the commons table and realizing, well, if 7EA's making a mess, then I can take it easy too."

Zircon wasn't sure what to say. Of course, she knew she made messes and had a faulty memory bank, but she'd never thought of how they could be good things. Things to remember her by.

"It's not the same," Yellow sighed. "3OD is a mess too, but nobody likes her. And the new zircon that moved into your cubby? Complete chunk of bedrock. She's naturally red, and she reminds us every time you talk to her for more than three seconds — like, we get it. You're rare."

Despite the situation, Zircon laughed a little. It was true; nobody liked 3OD, and everyone made the jokes about red zircons only knowing three words: "I" and "am" and "rare", exclusively in that order. "Are 4FF and 1ZK still stuck in court?"

"If they weren't, that'd be the first thing I told you," Yellow grimaced. "It's the five-year anniversary tomorrow."

"They're going to be there forever, I swear."

"Tell me about it. Oh, but they know about what happened to you, too. They're still constantly on their feeds. I'm pretty sure 1ZK is online right now; I just saw her post another status."

"I don't suppose it would be about me."

"Actually, it is. 'I'd trade places with 7EA any day. Imperial prison and a 300,000-credit price on my head sound like a blast compared to this transportwreck of a trial. Times Cubic Zirconia has repeated herself: 12,803. Times 4FF has poofed: 3. Times I have almost driven a stake through my own gem: 16. Send 7EA my regards.' "

"Noted. Tell her I said hello."

Yellow Zircon began typing, speaking aloud as she did. " 1ZK: 7EA accepts your regards."

"And would be willing to trade places if she'd really like."

"And would be willing to trade places if you'd really like. She's strung up in the imperial prison; I'm taking her to court with the Diamonds…AGAIN. Her new rebel outfit is super cute."

"Now, that's not necessary."

"What can I say? It IS cute. Posted publicly."

"Greaaat."

"Three zircons are already asking for pics, including 1ZK. Smile."

 _"Nooo."_

"I said smile, not scowl."

Yellow lifted her screen and snapped the picture anyway, despite the giant energy coils and Zircon's scathing glare. "Delete those," Zircon told her. Yellow did not.

"Posted. Oh, six likes in 0.5 seconds. You're on fire."

" _NOOOOOO."_

"C'mon, chin up," Yellow yawned. "You get to yell at Diamonds again, we all know you love that."

Zircon's head shot up, and she returned to glaring at Yellow. "You keep saying that," she said. "You're not serious, are you?"

"What? That you're going to court against the Diamonds?"

"No, that my outfit looks cute. YES, that I'm going to court against the Diamonds! What did you think?!"

"Stars, you are REALLY crabby today," muttered Yellow Zircon. "Well, technically, you're not going to court against the Diamonds, plural. In short, this is the Diamonds against each other, with you, me, and Aqua Aura Quartz in the middle. As we all know, normal court procedure goes out the window when Diamonds are involved. They want to be in and out within five minutes, and it will probably end with your public execution."

Zircon felt a knot clench up in her gut. "Greaaat."

"Ninety-six percent chance. The four percent accounts for Blue Diamond keeping you for a few days before Yellow Diamond vetoes her and has you publicly executed anyway."

"You're really not helping."

"See, this is what happens when you force a prosecutor to play at defense. This is very hard, you know."

"Excuse me, I'm very confused. Are...YOU my defendant? Is that why you're here?"

"In part. Yes." Yellow stood and straightened her neatly-folded cravat. "Yellow Diamond figured it would be adequate punishment for not immediately turning you in. Though I got out of anything more severe by throwing you under the transport and telling her that you threatened me with bodily harm, so, I'm very sorry about that. In any case — a more accurate description would be you and Blue Diamond against Aqua Aura Quartz and Yellow Diamond, with me in the middle as a third party moderator, to explain basic motives and actions taken by both parties. If I can, I will try to reduce casualties, but I don't know what I'm facing any more than you do. No official prosecutors or defendants; the Diamonds seem to have something against bringing in more gems than absolutely necessary. Despite the fact that our entire cubby complex knows what's going on to a T."

"So I'm basically cracked."

"That's about right."

The knot in Zircon's gut tightened and sank, heavy and cold. So this was it. This was how it ended, with a mess of bureaucratic tape and the Diamonds furious with each other, perhaps on the brink of civil war — because of her. Because she couldn't keep her mouth shut, because she couldn't lay low and stop sticking her nose in places it didn't belong, because she wouldn't let go of this stupid mystery.

And now it would be the end of her.

In the distance, heavy footsteps pounded against the floor (footsteps, Zircon had come to learn, were never good things). A white agate appeared in the doorway, her nose in the air.

"Time's up, zircons," she said. Yellow Zircon met Blue Zircon's eyes with something akin to pity, but only for a second.

Several clear quartzes filed into the room, releasing Zircon from the energy bindings, but only to lock her into hand and ankle cuffs. Then she was pushed along with them. The white agate and Yellow Zircon walked ahead, but there were six clear quartzes in between them and Zircon; six clear quartzes behind her as well. One on either side of her, holding her by the arms. The narrowness of the pristine white hallway made it so that she couldn't help but press up against the sides of the quartzes.

The only upside was that she had gotten used to being carted to unknown places by military personnel. So while the white agate led them up lifts, through security checkpoints, and into transports, and Yellow Zircon started getting visibly harrowed, Blue Zircon was fine. At least the waits and lines gave a few more minutes before her inevitable death.

At long dreaded last, Blue and Yellow Zircon were deposited into a dim pink room and left to wait. Yellow had a destabilizer — meant to use on Blue if she got "out of control". They met each other's eyes before Yellow closed her eyes and pulled away. The destabilizer dangled limply from her fingers.

"Look," she said, inhaling deeply, "I'm sorry. For Rose Quartz's trial. I knew how difficult it was, and I just made it harder for you. I understand if you're angry."

"It's fine."

Zircon wasn't sure if it was. But she looked at the gem next to her — a zircon just like her, made in the same batch, someone she'd worked alongside for four thousand years — and she couldn't be mad. They'd both grown since the trial. She could see it in Yellow's eyes, and in how Yellow looked at her in response.

She forced a half smile. "I mean...you ARE getting your turn, after all," said Blue Zircon. "Defending a rebel. That's treason, you know."

Yellow's eyes widened. Then, she grinned. "I felt I had that coming," she chuckled. "You're a clever little Starlite. I'm gonna miss you."

Frack it. She just had to bring out the "I'm gonna miss you"s. Tears were beading in Yellow's eyes, and Blue could feel hers coming too, and she would've hugged Yellow if it weren't for the handcuffs. Behind them, the lift door opened. But Yellow didn't even look to it.

Instead, she met Blue's eyes.

"You're really, really smart," she said. "And if anyone could come out of this alive, it would be you."

And slowly, very slowly, Yellow leaned in to kiss her cheek. Her soft lips pressed against Blue's skin for just a second — before she began to whisper. Soft, quick, so that the cameras couldn't catch it.

"I put your ankle cuffs on low sensitivity; they won't hurt if you run. You can deactivate your handcuffs with my destabilizer — cancels the charges out. Kick me in the stomach and I'll drop the destabilizer. Pretend to fight me, then destabilize me."

The hesitation was getting suspiciously long, and Yellow seemed to know it, so Blue made a show of leaning in and kissing Yellow's cheek. Though her face was tangibly warmer, Yellow kept whispering.

"We'll be in the Imperial Courtroom, but Yellow Diamond destroyed a portion of the wall. It's hidden by illusion so you can run through it, and shimmers when you look at it from the corner of your eye. When you break through, watch the drop."

She pulled away.

"But I'll do what I can," Yellow said aloud. "And I wish you all the luck in the galaxy."

* * *

 **what can i say? im courtship garbage**


	14. Chapter 14

When Yellow and Blue Zircon rose into the courtroom, the two Diamonds were on opposite sides of the room.

Pouting.

Besides the Diamonds, there were three other gems in the room — Yellow Pearl, Blue Pearl, and Aqua Aura Quartz. Already, there were three definitive groups. Blue Diamond, sitting normally in her throne, with Blue Pearl in her perch, doodling on a screen. Yellow Diamond, sitting in her throne but backwards, and Yellow Pearl in her perch, also backwards. Both of them had their arms crossed, and both had their backs to Blue Diamond. Aqua Aura stood in the lighted expanse between them, standing more to Yellow Diamond's half of the room, her hands behind her back. As Yellow Zircon led Blue Zircon to the center, Blue couldn't help but glare at Aqua Aura. If anyone here was a dirty, rotten traitor, it was that quartz.

Prodding her with the safe end of the destabilizer, Yellow Zircon guided Blue Zircon to Blue Diamond's half of the room, facing Aqua Aura. Yellow Zircon stepped back, cleared her throat, and opened a single screen.

"The mediation session will now begin," she said. "Ah — my radiant Diamond. The court would be very pleased if you turned around."

"I'm not looking at her," said Yellow Diamond. "Just get on with it."

Yellow Zircon's composure seemed to melt a little. For the first time, Blue Zircon noticed that her hands shook, ever so slightly, even as she held them behind her back.

"Ah — alright. Ahem. According to the records, Starlite Zircon Facet 1D7B, Cut 7EA was sentenced to harvesting, having been convicted for high treason. She escaped the Facet One Harvester due to a chance machine malfunction and fatally damaged the gems of sixteen peridots and the facility's agate. Several days later, the zircon cornered Hyacinth Zircon Facet 1D7B, Cut 7AN — that is, myself — and pressed m...her for information. The hyacinth zircon told her only to seek asylum from Blue Diamond.

"The starlite zircon appealed to a local garrison, headed by Cranberry Tourmaline Facet 2, Cut 8J9P, a transfer from Pink Diamond's court. While Starlite was recovering, Cranberry Tourmaline eloped with a quartz soldier and went missing. Starlite was seized by Blue Diamond's imperial garrison and transported to Blue Diamond's high meeting room. Blue Diamond accepted Starlite's request of asylum — on the sole condition that Starlite infiltrate Yellow Diamond's private quarters and gather intelligence.

"Starlite was assisted by Blue Diamond's pearl and Aqua Aura Quartz Facet 1A1C, Cut 2JD. Yesterday afternoon, Starlite successfully infiltrated Yellow Diamond's private office, using top-secret gem technology. While Starlite listened, Blue Diamond sent a message to Yellow Diamond, with the foreknowledge that it would upset Yellow Diamond enough to make her speak to her pearl — and, in extension, the hidden Starlite. Aqua Aura Quartz arrived shortly afterwards to tell Yellow Diamond the entirety of Blue Diamond's plan, violating Blue Diamond's trust — but staying within the bounds of Aqua Aura Quartz's tri-Diamond contract. The starlite zircon was poofed and detained."

Yellow Zircon exhaled after reading the whole record, her hands still shaking, and paused to take stock of the room. Yellow Diamond still sat with her back to the entire court. Blue Diamond looked like she would rather clean the floors with her hair. Aqua Aura Quartz wore the first emotion Blue Zircon had ever seen from her — a wide, unabashed, silt-eating grin.

"Are there any initial questions from the court?" asked Yellow Zircon. She was met with silence. "My Diamond — er, Yellow Diamond. Is there anything you wish to ask Blue Diamond?"

"I am not talking to her," Yellow Diamond snapped. "If she really wants to hear what I have to say, maybe she should send that off-color spy."

Ouch. Now, Blue Zircon could handle "overcooked". "Synthetic". Even "recolored" was fine. Off-color was just crude. She met Yellow Zircon's eyes as both of them tried to recompose themselves, and pity passed between them for a second — Yellow to Blue for the slur, Blue to Yellow for being terribly out of her depth.

"Now, my Diamond," began Yellow Zircon slowly, "with all due respect — which is, of course, more than any of us could ever offer to your glimmering, flawless face — the mediation cannot continue unless you speak to — "

"I said, I am NOT talking to her."

"But — "

"Did I stutter? Now shut your brown-nosing mouth, or I'll make sure you never use it again."

Yellow Zircon visibly paled. Before she could bumble her way through another attempt, Blue Diamond cut in.

"Yellow, please," she begged. "I didn't mean to anger you. All I wanted was to know. I — I felt like you were keeping something from me, I felt so lost — "

Despite her vow not to talk to Blue Diamond, Yellow Diamond whirled around and glared over her shoulder. "So that's your excuse for invading my privacy? You were LOST? How about suspecting me of murdering our Pink, is that not enough to make me sympathize with you? Oh, but you HAVE to say it in a way that will make me PITY you, so that you never have to own up to anything!"

"Yellow — "

"Just admit it! You were tricked, and you know it! If you'd just admit that you were being a fool, believing that zircon — "

"I wasn't tricked!" Blue Diamond yelled, her voice shaking. "I believe her! Something is WRONG, Yellow; why can't you just LISTEN to me?"

"My Diamonds."

The voice, cold and booming amidst the hot shrilling of both Diamonds, cut through the rabble like a knife. It was Aqua Aura, the only composed gem left in the room, her head held proud and high. She turned so she could look at both Diamonds.

"I think we can agree," Aqua Aura said, "that the mere fact that Blue Diamond continues to speak of a traitor as anything but despicable says enough. My Diamond, I mean no disrespect. But I agree with Yellow Diamond. You cannot trust that traitor."

Blue Diamond's face read only shock, and she didn't seem to know what to say. It was then that Blue Zircon had enough.

"And what do YOU know about trust?" she snapped at Aqua Aura. "If anyone here deserves to lose the right to trust, it's THIS quartz! My Diamond, Aqua Aura violated the silence of asylum; she disobeyed Blue Diamond and put my LIFE in jeopardy to — "

"I feel as if you lack a conceptual misunderstanding of how a tri-Diamond contract works, zircon," Aqua Aura interrupted. "I am not bound by the orders of the immediate court. I work on a higher plane, working to serve all three Diamonds for their greater good. My orders are to keep the peace. When Blue Diamond sent you, she violated that peace — but why? Because of YOUR cracked theory. That is unquestionable."

"Well, I don't have a fancy contract. My loyalty is to Blue Diamond. I only ever did what she told me to do," Zircon retorted. "Defend Rose Quartz? Done. Seek asylum? Done. Spy on Yellow Diamond? I didn't want to, but done. If I HADN'T followed those orders, I would be marked as a traitor. But I did. And somehow the label stuck!"

Aqua Aura seemed taken aback — but for only a second. Then she chuckled. "I don't think Blue Diamond ordered you to shatter seventeen gems."

"Order in the court!" Yellow Zircon snapped, very pointedly directed at Aqua Aura. "Aqua Aura Quartz, you will be penalized for speaking out of turn."

Even past her gold visor, the shock on Aqua Aura's face was clear. "And the off-color isn't?"

"Starlite Zircon's objection was only justified because you spoke first," Yellow Zircon said. "Unless, of course, your tri-Diamond contract means that you have the permission to interrupt the Diamonds as well. Hmm...but I don't see that in your file."

Aqua Aura went silent, her face darkening a few shades of cerulean. Zircon couldn't help but grin a little.

Oh, Yellow really was good.

"Now," said Yellow Zircon, "as is customary for a mediation, I will ask a question and the recipient will answer uninterrupted. Blue Diamond. Yellow Diamond doubts the trust you have placed in your court zircon. May you present your reasoning?"

While Blue Diamond thought, Yellow Diamond pointedly stepped back, turned her throne around, and sat in it with a loud "huff". The glare she sent to Blue Diamond could have sawed through a concrete wall.

"Well…" Blue Diamond began hesitantly, each passing second making Blue Zircon's gem feel a degree colder. "7EA is my best zircon. She has never shown any ill will towards me or any of the members of my court. I assigned her to represent Rose Quartz, not because I believed she would win, but because I knew. If anyone could answer my questions, it was 7EA."

"And apparently, the answer was that we shattered Pink," interjected Yellow Diamond.

"My Diamond," Yellow Zircon said. "The regulations."

Yellow Diamond scowled at her. Yellow Zircon flinched, but quickly recovered. "This is what happens when we abandon court procedure," she muttered, which was exactly what Blue Zircon had been thinking.

"I know," Blue Diamond said, blinking quickly. "But 7EA only did what I asked. She has a point, Yellow, you have to see it. Not that we shattered her. But that there is something we have covered up for too long, pushed aside because neither of us wanted to think about it. We missed something, Yellow. We've made a mistake."

All at once, the atmosphere dropped from uncomfortably tepid to absolute zero; despite her headscarf, Blue Zircon felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end — the air was electric, buzzing with a frightening charge as Yellow Diamond stood up again. Aqua Aura's mouth hung open. Even the pearls were aghast. Only for a second was Zircon confused before the truth hit her like a sack of bricks… the M-word. The one unforgivable sin on Homeworld, one with which she should have been terribly familiar.

You never, ever told a Diamond that she has made a mistake.

For a second, the look on Yellow Diamond's face very closely resembled fear — blind, reflexive panic. Then, she snapped to attention. "Zircon," she said, causing both zircons to jump. "We will take a short recess. I need to speak with her."

A drop of sweat rolled down Yellow Zircon's chin. "W — with all due respect, my Diamond, that's not permitted in the regulat — "

"To dust with the regulations!" Yellow Diamond snarled. "I am speaking with Blue Diamond. _Now."_

Blue Diamond had been looking at the ground, and when all eyes moved to her, she nodded solemnly and stood. She began to follow Yellow Diamond to the warp pad, past the zircons and Aqua Aura, her pearl in her wake...but then, without warning, she stopped.

"No," said Blue Diamond.

Her eyes wide, Yellow Diamond whirled around. Blue cut her off.

"I am not one of your subjects. And I will not be told what to do with mine. I'm sorry, Yellow."

Yellow Diamond's mouth opened and closed, as if searching for a breath of air where there was none. When her voice came back, it was high and sharp enough to make skin crawl. "Then why have I been the one to order them around? Can you answer that?"

"Yellow — "

"If you want so much control over your own subjects, why can't you quit crying in your quarters and shoving all of your problems on me? I have done MY work and YOUR work for FIVE THOUSAND YEARS, Blue!"

"Well — they're still MY gems! I can do what I want with them!"

"Oh, like shattering a few vapid pearls for fusing, but letting a traitor walk free?"

"Don't bring that up."

"Or what? You'll cry at me?"

The snapping rose to yelling. The pearls scurried back. Even Aqua Aura seemed worried, her hands open and at her sides, her back turned to the zircons. In fact...nobody was looking at the zircons.

They met eyes.

Yellow Zircon jerked her head vaguely in the direction of Blue Diamond's throne. Right. The hole. At first, when Blue Zircon looked into the darkness, she saw nothing. But then, when she turned her head and only looked from the corner of her eye, she began to make it out — a shape, a diamond of all things, shimmering like a mirage in the middle of the abyss. Several feet up; she'd have to jump, but it was a wide target.

When she looked back at Yellow Zircon, the prosecutor was watching the Diamonds argue...partially. Without looking back at Blue Zircon, she shuffled her feet. Of course; the ankle cuffs. Yellow had deactivated them, so that they still offered resistance, but wouldn't destabilized Blue when she moved. Experimentally, Blue mirrored the action, shuffled her feet, and pulled tight at the electric band between them, only half-expecting a dizzying shock. None came. She widened her stance. Magnetic resistance, but nothing bad. So Yellow had come through after all.

Feigning idleness, even though her hands were visibly shaking, Yellow twirled the gem destabilizer in her fingers. The cue. Blue took a long, deep breath.

 _Alright. Here goes nothing._

She lunged forward and kicked Yellow in the gut. Just as promised, Yellow dropped the destabilizer; Blue scooped it up and drove it into Yellow's form. All at once, Blue dropped to her knees and Yellow exploded into light, the wind and force grazing the back of Blue's neck — and attracting the attention of every gem in the room. When Blue Zircon looked up, both Diamonds were staring in horror. And Aqua Aura was charging.

 _Schist._

Fumbling with the destabilizer, Zircon jammed it between her handcuffs, just like Yellow Zircon had told her to. Sparks showered up at the reaction, forcing her wrists apart and making her wince. But she was free.

And she didn't look back. Aqua Aura was gaining on her, but all she could do was scoop up Yellow's gem and sprint to the hole in the wall. There was nothing to see. Nothing left to lose. Nothing left to give. Except pounding her feet against the floor, sprinting because her life depended on it, running straight at what looked like a solid wall, knowing that if she slowed at all, she'd lose her nerve.

Behind her, Aqua Aura's boots skidded against the floor. Instinct saw the dark wall in front of her, and told Zircon to do the same. All that was left was blind trust in Yellow Zircon's word.

Her fingers clutched around Yellow's gem hard enough to hurt. And without another thought, she closed her eyes, braced herself, and hurled herself into the unknown.

* * *

 **small explanation: aqua aura quartz, like all aura quartzes, is not a natural stone. it is, instead, natural clear quartz that has been synthetically bonded to gold particles, giving it the blue quality. i chose aqua aura to represent a tri-diamond worker because of this change in appearance, as it associates her with white diamond, yellow diamond, and blue diamond respectively.**

 **shes still an asshole tho.**


	15. Chapter 15

She hit nothing.

When Zircon opened her eyes, she met pink sky. Glittering spires. The courts were behind her, and nothing beneath her but air. She was falling fast. If she could control her fall, she might be able to land on one of the structures jutting out from the sides of buildings. Desperately, she grasped inside of her for a skill she never knew she would need — manipulation of gravity, to slow an ascent or descent. All gems had it, even the Era Twos. She just had to reach deep inside or something, perhaps have some sort of transcendent revelation, and she would reveal the sklll…

No such revelation came. About a half mile down, she met a docking ramp at very high speeds, flat on her face.

"Ow."

Dizzy, she pushed herself to her feet and took stock of herself. Destabilizer in her left hand, Yellow Zircon's gem in her right. Her own gem was luckily undamaged, even after the rough landing. There. That wasn't so hard.

Then she looked up and locked eyes with an olivine.

The lanky old thing, clearly an early Era One, had been climbing a ladder into the cockpit of a cargo ship, but froze in her tracks when she saw Zircon. Her expression was akin to that of someone who has been approached suddenly by a pyrite and told that they owe six hundred credits to a bank that clearly doesn't exist, and to pay up immediately or the pyrite will spill a secret that the approached gem does not have. The olivine's eyes squinted under her bulky goggles.

"The blazes er you? Ge' off my dockin' ramp, clod!" she rasped, jumping off her ladder. With the ferocity of a quartz pulling a sword, the olivine whipped an impractically large wrench from her belt. Stuttering apologies, Zircon scurried off the docking ramp and into a cluttered workshop beyond, where the olivine kept yelling not to touch things that Zircon clearly wasn't touching.

She was thrown unceremoniously out of the olivine's workshop with a crass warning, a wrench-whack on the head, and a slamming door that told her she was on her own. Alone again — in streets that were grimy with eons' worth of refuse, wavering with dim and flickering lights, and pockmarked with gems who glared from under dark hoods.

Zircon gulped. The underworld. She could handle the underworld. Still, she gripped her stolen destabilizer a little tighter.

Rather than the crumbling residential crust she had navigated after escaping the Harvester, she was now in what seemed to be a "downtown" area. The depressing sky of pipes and concrete — instead of pressing down from a cramped two stories — soared five stories overhead, the buildings seemingly hunched under its limit. In both directions, they stretched down the weathered road until fading into the grey haze. Most shops were either barred up, vandalized, or sputtering neon with the kind of nightlife she'd always been warned about.

Other than the hooded gems shuffling along the thoroughfare, the only sign of movement was a hunched figure on a curb. A small hoarse voice called to passerby, "Lead cloaks. Lead cloaks, twenty credits. Th — th — there's danger."

A chill crept into her gem. _Danger._

Holding the destabilizer and Yellow Zircon's gem close to her sides, Zircon made her way to the gem on the curb. Even with the bulky cloak and hood, the thing was still much smaller than her. The only thing she had was a small crate filled with rumpled fabric.

"Um, excuse me," Zircon spoke up, unsure, "but did you say there's danger?"

The gem lifted her head. She didn't turn around, but when Zircon crouched down beside her, she realized something very odd — a scarf tied over her eyes. No, not her eyes; there was a shape under the fabric. A gemstone, right in the middle of her face, where her eyes should be, but weren't. Zircon looked closer at the gem's twitching dark hand, her scuffed boots tapping the asphalt. It wasn't just the darkness; this gem was a very familiar dark red. Nearly black. Off-colored.

"I know you," Zircon blurted. "You were my first client — maybe the second. I, er, I don't remember, but...I remember you. You had — oh stars, what was it, it's been millenia — you had future vision, even though you're a ruby, but it only gave you the power to see negative outcomes. The kindergarteners wanted you shattered, but your agate refused...that...WAS you, right?"

The ruby didn't respond. Then, she spread her hand, making a grabbing motion with her fingers. "N — need to give you a cloak. Want to help. Twenty credits."

Inside of Zircon, something ached. She reached into her gem, prayed for more loose change, and pulled out only a five and a ten. "Sorry. I only have fifteen."

"F — f — fifteen, good enough. You get cloak with no clasp. Jus' string."

Quick as a whip, Ruby snatched the fifteen credits from Zircon's hand and replaced them with an unusually heavy cloth. Then, almost in an afterthought, a piece of string. Zircon didn't know if she would need the string, so she cautiously set it, Yellow Zircon's gem, and the destabilizer on the ground behind her.

She turned her attention back to the cloak. It shimmered in the uncertain light, and Zircon was surprised to find that it was only partly fabric; instead, the threads were polyester twisted with hair-thin strands of lead. Tentatively, she pulled the cloak — essentially a one-size-fits-all tube — over her head and fiddled with the inside buttons to secure it on her shoulders, so as to cover her gem but leave her arms free.

"Protects against robonoids," rasped Ruby. "The lead confuses their eyes."

Of course. Just like when Zircon hid in the power plant booth — the robonoids couldn't see through metal. Upon closer examination, Ruby's blindfold seemed to be made of the same material.

"There's danger," Ruby said suddenly.

Zircon picked up the destabilizer and Yellow Zircon's gem again. "You just said that the cloaks protect our gems."

"From the r — robonoids," stammered Ruby, and grabbed her crate from beside her. "N — n — not patrols. Patrols will find you. I have to take you somewhere."

She leaned forward and turned her head, as if looking down the road despite her blindfold. Then she stood up and shifted her crate onto her hip, her other hand reaching vaguely towards Zircon. Tentatively, Zircon stood and put her free hand in Ruby's. At first, Ruby gasped...and then slowly smiled, showing her little gapped teeth. Inside, Zircon felt the ache from before return. The poor gemling. Probably was the first friendly physical contact she'd had in ages.

Ruby tugged on her hand and they set off, deeper into the underworld. It didn't take long to spot another panel with her face plastered across it, so she pulled her cloak hood over her head (her headscarf still poked out a little) and gripped her destabilizer tighter.

Then, they turned down a corner and Zircon gasped. A robonoid glared down the street, the blinding red eye causing her to flinch back. Initially, panic welled up in her — but then Ruby tugged her hand, grounding her again. Right. The cloaks.

"Get to the side," said Ruby, as matter-of-factly as if avoiding a large but harmless street vehicle. "So it don't hit you."

Wordlessly, Zircon obeyed, her form trembling so much that she couldn't resist even if she wanted to. Ruby pulled her right against the wall, the concrete ice cold on her back even through her appearance modifiers and cloak. The blinding red beam crept down them, and Zircon couldn't help but squeeze her eyes shut as it moved towards her chest...but then, she felt nothing. No harsh screech in her ear as the alarms found her gem. No agonizing blast of energy as it shattered her. Just Ruby's tiny, warm hand, squeezing her own gently.

"You're safe," Ruby whispered. "Look."

She opened her eyes and met darkness again. Its scanner deactivated, the hovering robonoid whirred around the corner and disappeared, satisfied that it hadn't found anything.

 _You're safe._

Zircon knew she should be relieved. Now she had a shield, a companion, an underground in which to hide. But she didn't feel safe at all. She was still lost. She was still on the run. Involuntarily, a giggle bubbled up her throat, and her hand slipped out of Ruby's as she slid to the ground.

"Eheheh...ahahaha, oh my stars, no — " Another laughing fit tore itself from her mouth. Her hand shaking, she touched her own face and felt tears. "No. No, no, no...oh my stars — !"

Ruby took a small step back. "A — are you okay?!"

Zircon inhaled slowly, trying to compose herself. She failed, and the words spilled.

"No. I'm so sorry, Ruby, I'm really not okay. I — I'm not supposed to be like this. don't know what's going on, I'm so scared, I — I — I don't like this. I'm sorry. It's not your fault. But I can't take this. I can't."

The fabric of the cloak had gotten caught up in her free hand, and she squeezed it so tight that her knuckles turned pale. Her chest felt hollow; it was like there was a gaping hole in her gut filled with nothing but the writhing terror that nothing would ever fix it.

In her other hand, a drop landed on the surface of Yellow Zircon's gem. Still silent. Still cold. A sob trickled out.

"I can't do this. I feel so alone, Ruby. I don't want this. I want to be innocent again, I want to have a purpose, I want to have people who don't try to grind me into powder, I want to rest and have things be normal, I want — I want to be okay. I want to have a home again. I can't do that here. I know you want to help me, but I don't know if anyone can anymore. I'm sorry."

And now there was nothing left. Just an unconscious friend, a defective ruby, and her own self-pity. Her monocle was spattered with tears and she clumsily took it off to clean it on the cloak — but only to stop as a weight rested on her shoulder. Ruby curled up against her, small arms barely reaching all the way around Zircon's body.

"I can help," she whispered. "I can. I know I can."

Her chest still aching, Zircon sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Disgusting, but she had to make do. "I don't know."

"I do," said Ruby, fiercer this time. "G — gems like you. Like me. Off-colors. More than you know. Some of them le — le — left Homeworld. They want to help us. They are finding ways for us to leave. To — to go home."

"Home?"

"Home," she repeated. "Earth. Where Rose Quartz says we are free."

* * *

 **SO i didn't really know how to end this chpater but that's why it took a long af time so uh better shit than never amirite**

 **anyway so i was inspired to post this because a.) i was reading Always Been An Off Color by thelittlemerms and iT'S REAL GREAT GO CHECK IT OUT ITS ON AO3 SORRY TO MY FFN READERS and b.) i told my sister that if i threw a styrofoam bowl in the air and it landed on the side rather than the top or bottom i would finish this chapter tonight and guess what landed on its side**

 **which are probably the worst two reasons for ending a chapter completely terribly but you do what you gotta do man**

 **anyway i don't know when the next chapters will be out. honestly no clue. not even the slightest. first of all, im applying to college right now and its crazy. second of all, i'm playing the wicked witch in the wizard of oz, and it's also crazy. third of all, i like to procrastinate. i have two more chapters handwritten in my writing journal, as well as the remaining 5-ish extensively outlined elsewhere, so im ALMOST done except for the typing bit. and that's hard to do.**

 **but we'll see.**

 **PLEASE LET ME KNOW THE GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE I AM PERFECTLY AWARE OF THE BAD THINGS (I.E. THE SHIT PACING, THE FACT THAT THERE'S NO REAL COMPLETE ARC SINCE I HAD TO CUT IT IN HALF, THE WEIRD TRANSITIONS AND MY DISTURBING LOVE OF GROSS GREASY LOWER-LEVEL CORUSCANT AESTHETIC)**


	16. Chapter 16

They set off again, hand in hand.

At first, Zircon tried to remember the different paths they took, where her guide Ruby turned corners and tumbled down stairs and clambered up ladders. She was, after all, being literally led by the blind. She wasn't even sure if Ruby had a destination. If Ruby got lost, then surely Zircon's near-photographic memory could help them get back to somewhere that they recognized.

It was hardly that simple. After Ruby pulled her through a riotous nightclub, a decrepit back-room bar, and a hidden hatch in the floor, sending both of them sliding down several twisting miles of dusty metal pipes, Zircon gave up. Such is my fate, she mused, to follow this doomsaying ruby into the core of Homeworld.

But as much as she tried to laugh it off, the knot in her gut told her that Ruby might just have a reason.

Deeper into the underworld they fled, and it was like they were going back in time. Gems became fewer and fewer; streets went from old iron to ancient asphalt; the few plasma lights turned to faded electric and then none at all. All around them, invisible water plinked against rusting metal, filling the forsaken halls with unworldly echoes. Some streets had caved in. In others, the only things holding up the concrete sky were forests of steel beams, each marked by a foreign symbol — the shape of a diamond, split into four.

The first Authority, thought Zircon, a chill running down her spine. The beams themselves had to be at least six thousand years old…but compared to the world around them, even they were like gemlings. When she pulled away her hand, the pads of her fingers were covered in rust.

CLANG!

Zircon and Ruby jumped. By the distorted echoes, the sound had probably come from far away, but instantly both were on edge. "Gem patrols...they're ca — catching up," whispered Ruby.

"Apparently so!" Zircon hissed, with no small amount of sarcasm. Ruby gripped her hand tightly and they took off again. "I thought your future vision could see that!"

"Y — y — yes! But there are eight thousand, seven hundred forty-four other ways we will die down here if, if we don't act fast and — and — and I'm kinda worried about those too...AH! Don't step in that!"

She jerked at Zircon's arm, veering her away from a greasy but harmless-looking puddle. Suddenly, Zircon was not as keen on questioning her.

They tore off. At some point — Zircon wasn't sure when — new sounds began to register in their ears. A distant howling, like sirens, growing louder and louder. Thudding footsteps. The faintest echoes of voices. Ruby's hand was alarmingly hot, and she pulled Zircon faster, and faster, and faster until she was floating a foot off the ground, dragging Zircon into a full, clumsy sprint.

The alleys were dark and thick as ink now, pressing in hot from all sides. Zircon's collar was soaked from sweat and her boots from stars knew what; her legs burned from strain. Suddenly, they skidded to a stop. As her eyes adjusted, Zircon saw that they were in an intersection with six outlets...but Ruby didn't take any of them. She just whirled around like she was looking for something, her little hands clutching at her box of cloaks like a lifeline.

"There's nothing," she murmured. "N — no way out, nothing..."

Despite the pressing heat, a chill crept up Zircon's spine. "Yes there is!" she tried, desperate. "Let's just keep moving; our cloaks protect us, right?"

Ruby was trembling. Slowly, she reached behind her head and pulled at her blindfold, letting it fall to the ground. Set in the center of her face, her gem glowed ever-so-faintly. She sank to her knees.

"You don't understand," was all she said. "Our timeline is doomed."

"Over there! I see 'em!"

Even before she could turn around, Zircon felt her gem go cold. Then, she turned and locked gazes with a giant silhouette — a ruby fusion, blocking one exit. Then two quartzes appeared in a second alley. A squad of rubies in a third. An officer on a speeder in a fourth, a quartz in a fifth, more rubies in the last. Robonoids poured into the square, circling Zircon and Ruby, and all at once flooded the space in white light. Even with the hood over her head, Zircon recoiled from the intensity, her entire form tingling. Ruby let out a blood-curdling shriek and collapsed.

Her throat tight, Zircon rushed forward to help Ruby, but a flash of movement made her freeze. The gems in the alley charged.

"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" yelled several at once, and reflexively Zircon released the destabilizer. The edges of Yellow Zircon's gem dug through the palms of her gloves. Stars, part of her wished that Yellow would reform right now, find some way to talk their way out of this — that's just how her cut was. Unaltered. Perfect.

While all Zircon could do was sit, tremble, watch as the soldiers closed in around her.

WHAM!

Zircon jerked back. For a second, she wasn't sure what she was looking at. The realization came slowly, consciously — something slammed down in front of her, filling her whole vision with pink. It was bigger than the quartzes, bigger than the ruby fusion, each of its arms — each of its four arms — longer than Zircon's entire body.

A fusion?

Just like Zircon, the patrol gems didn't know how to react at first. Then one of the quartzes shook her head and charged at the fusion, summoning a large gauntlet...only for her fist to be met midway by one of the fusion's massive palms. The quartz flew over Zircon's head with a speed that nearly flicked her hood back.

The fusion stood to her full height, towering over the robonoids and patrols. Blades flashed to life on each of her forearms, and as the robonoids whizzed up to match her, she whirled in a quick pirouette and met them with the blades, severing some down the middle and sending the rest smashing against the wall.

"Behind you!" Ruby screamed. Both Zircon and the fusion turned just in time to see the multi-ruby fusion lunge forward, lugging a broadsword over her shoulder. The blades collided in a shower of sparks.

"SIEZE THEM!" the ruby fusion bellowed, and Zircon realized that now might not be the best time to be staring up at the colossal fusions.

A quartz charged her. Barely thinking, Zircon scooped up the stolen destabilizer and slashed recklessly at the quartz. Or, more accurately, the air where the quartz used to be. Before Zircon knew what was happening, the quartz's foot shot forward, connected solidly with her gut, and threw her against the wall.

A groan leaked pathetically from her mouth. As she cracked open her eyes again, the scene before her unfolded dizzily, wavering and rocking as if on the deck of a boat. As the wave of ruby patrols rushed in, the blind Ruby clutched to her crate, looking as if she wanted nothing more but to cry. Quartzes, their weapons drawn, closed slowly in around Zircon. Orders and insults flew at her like bullets. Above, the two fusions rocked in their duel, paying no attention to where their feet landed in the small square. Despite being nearly frozen in terror, Zircon managed to roll to the side just in time to avoid being crushed by the multi-ruby fusion's boot. The two fusions froze for a moment, their blades locked, struggling to overpower the other.

Then, it hit Zircon. Of course. Gripping the destabilizer tight, she scrambled to her feet and thrust it into the ruby fusion's ankle.

Now, she had seen fusions be destabilized before. But never more than four gems at a time — this fusion was at least seven, and as she crumpled into chunks of light, the patrol gems scattered. Zircon had the sudden terrible premonition that she would finally meet her match like this, being crushed and/or melted by ten-thousand degree pieces of dying photomatter.

What a way to go.

Then, suddenly, the ground vanished from underneath her and she found herself flying.

For a moment her cloak blinded her. And as she untangled herself, her monocle nearly popped off. Now with an armful of cloak, monocle, destabilizer, and Yellow Zircon's still-sedentary gem, Zircon realized that she was being carried over the giant pink fusion's left shoulder; all she could see was a mass of curly pink hair, the quickly-shrinking forms of soldiers in the alley behind them, and buildings whizzing by at nauseating speeds.

"Strawberry?"

The voice was a ruby's — no, Ruby's. When Zircon craned her head and peered past the fusion's wild ponytail, she made out a poof of black hair on the fusion's other shoulder. She let out a breath she hadn't meant to hold. Phew. She had only known the blind Ruby for a few hours, but Zircon wasn't sure what she would do if the little one was hurt.

"Strawberry Quartz!" Ruby called again. "Th — thank stars, all, all, all I could see was gem powder, it was terrible!"

Zircon expected Strawberry Quartz — she assumed that was the fusion — to respond, but she just kept running. The patrol gems were out of sight now and Strawberry skidded down a side street, gripped Zircon tighter around the waist, and then leapt into the air fast enough to make Zircon's gut clenched up. It took all her effort not to scream.

When she opened her eyes (she hadn't meant to close them), Strawberry Quartz was setting Zircon on the ground in a foreign room. The open space and grand but rusting arches suggested that it was once a transport station, complete with old benches and a smooth floor littered with illegible brochures that disintegrated when Zircon touched them. Strawberry stood comfortably in the space, at eye level with the shattered bay windows far above. Hurriedly, she reached up and pulled huge metal shutters over the windows, delving them into total darkness. A second later, a small plasma lantern sputtered to life.

Almost as doon as the light appeared, Strawberry set it down and Ruby ran to her, leaping up into her arms. The reunion was quiet, intimate enough to make Zircon feel like she was interrupting something. She looked down at Yellow Zircon's gem. Still dormant. Still cold.

She pulled her eyes back up to Ruby and Strawberry.

"You are in so much trouble, gemling," Strawberry murmured. Her voice took Zircon by surprise — stern but trembling, deep and soft underneath. Somehow familiar. "I told you to stay here; it's too dangerous to keep selling these things with a price on your head!"

"But I h — had a vision," Ruby protested. "The, the D — D — D — Diamonds were there, and a traitor, and a trial, it was for sure, you wouldn't be able to prevent it — "

"If you got hurt, we wouldn't be able to forgive ourselves," Strawberry replied, hugging Ruby tighter for a second. She took Ruby by the waist as if to set her gently on the ground, but instead released her into the air. As if nothing had happened, Ruby simply floated there, twenty feet above the ground and at eye level with Strawberry. Strawberry was giving her a very disappointed look. "I know it's habit, but you need to understand. You don't have to sell them anymore. You're free."

"It's n — n — not about me." Still hovering, Ruby folded her arms and kicked the air petulantly.

"Cherry, look. I'm happy that we could save another gem. But…"

"But it's not just another gem!" cried Ruby. "It — it — it's the renegade Zircon!"

Strawberry froze. Inadvertently, Zircon drew in a breath. Suddenly, she realized that there really was something familiar about Strawberry, something that she'd almost forgotten. She pushed her cloak hood back. Slowly, the fusion turned around and knelt, her eyes locking with Zircon's for the first time — and Zircon couldn't help but gape in return.

Two wide eyes. A stable fusion. A round face; dark lips parted in a silent "O"; a deep blush flooding her cheeks. A bandana covering her forehead and a sash around her waist. And two silver bracelets around one pair of her hands.

"Starlite?" Strawberry whispered — a second before she split apart.

Cranberry Tourmaline and Raspberry Quartz tumbled to the floor in a tangle of Ruby's lead fabric, then stared up at her. Zircon stepped back. She didn't know what to think, what to say. Of course she was never sheltered from the complexities of noncombative fusion — she was a public defense zircon, for stars' sakes — but as for knowing gems who committed the crime…she was suddenly lost for words. Her hand pressed over her mouth.

The room, however abandoned, felt as if it could not get more quiet.

It was Cranberry who first summoned the strength to speak. Not meeting Zircon's eyes, she stood, folded Strawberry's oversized sash into a neat square, and finally brushed off her pencil skirt.

"Zircon," she said haltingly. "You look well."

Raspberry Quartz's eyes narrowed into a harsh glare. Almost as if in defense, she pushed herself up and stepped almost in front of Cranberry, her arms crossed. A nervous laugh bubbled from Zircon's mouth.

"Oh...yes. How have you been?"

The question came out stiff and automatic. Raspberry's glare sharpened. Cranberry nudged her hand and they seemed to pass something between them, as if they were still connected despite their fusion falling apart.

Finally Raspberry replied, "Terrible," which Zircon was not surprised by. Then she said, "You have a lot of explaining to do."

Zircon knew she did. A small smile on her lips, Ruby floated to the ground. "I foresaw this."

"Of course you did," said Raspberry, gritting her teeth. "Of course."

* * *

 **better late than never amirite**

 **(h a h im getting to the point where i am writing it completely off the seat of my pants again)**

 **anyway here's just your weekly reminder to keep up with #de facto on my blog, equilateralwaffle, which has a lot of fun stuff that y'all might like. plus eventually i am going to post the official cover art that took me forever but idk when so watch out for that**

 **by this point im just teasing y'all with the off-colors but spoiler alert: when we meet them, the story's over. it's gonna happen in either the last or second-to-last chapter. probably second-to-last because as i typed this sentence, i got a good idea for a dialogue between lars and zircon about personal growth and bravery someone remind me to do that when i get there**

 **ALSO! if anyone is interested, i have a de facto official chat up and running on Steven Universe Amino, if anyone has that app. its largely memes right now. but it's pretty cool so if you have SU Amino, drop by and hit up the Level 14 Labradorite with the five gazillion wiki entries**


	17. Chapter 17

With their gems alight, Raspberry Quartz, Cranberry Tourmaline, and the blind Ruby led Zircon deeper into the transport station, tiptoeing through festering halls and down crumbling staircases. Their destination: a terminal far underground, seemingly blocked off by a pair of rusted doors. Then Raspberry pounded her fist against it seven times, pressed her face to the crack, and said, "It's Berry Team. Open up or I'll use you to shine Cran's shoes."

She stood back and waited. A second later, a clunky button on the wall lit up, which Cranberry carefully pressed. With a mighty groan and creak, the doors lurched open. Inside was completely dark.

Then, one by one, rows of electric lights flickered on, their weak power barely filling the tunnel. One by one, the lights glinted off gems, scattered throughout the shallow room. One by one, the whites of eyes opened and rose cautiously from behind old crates.

The eyes followed them. The door slammed shut, making Zircon jump and nearly catching the hem of her cloak. The eyes followed that too.

"Peace," said Cranberry, stepping down into the space. "We've brought a friend."

Slowly, four gems crept out into the open. A heavily-tattooed bismuth, holding a trembling ruby close to her chest. An oddly scruffy-looking heliodor; a too-thin aqua pearl glaring viciously through a veil.

Movement drew Zircon's eyes to the left and she realized there was a place where the floor seemed to give out, creating a pit several feet deep that stretched into a tunnel in the wall. Perhaps that was where the transports once ran. But there was no transport now, just two more gems peering above the edge at her. A hematite holding a branding iron like a sword...and a skinny peridot with a half-shaved head and a loaded gun on her limb enhancer.

Zircon's jaw dropped. "5XI?!"

The peridot's eyes widened. Another peridot, one with long blond hair, popped up next to her, and Zircon put her hand over her mouth. She hadn't thought much about the two technicians that she'd attacked and left formless in the Harvester — it felt like so long ago — but now that she saw them, it was like her heart grew a little lighter. "5XU! You're not…"

"Not cracked? Yeah, we really feel the love," 5XI cut in, clambering up out of the pit and pulling 5XU up with her. "You left us for DUST, clod!"

"They thought we helped you," 5XU spat, her voice wobbling. "They were gonna shatter us!"

5XI put her floating fingers protectively on 5XU's shoulder. "Who do you think you are, anyway? Why should we even trust you — "

Zircon tried to protest, but suddenly, pain seared her hands. Yelping, she leapt back — letting the destabilizer drop to the floor and the glowing yellow gem rise into the air. Slowly, as if pushing against the dim light in the terminal, Yellow Zircon's form ballooned out from her gemstone, hovering above the wary crowd for a few silent seconds. Then she dropped to the ground, flailing her arms.

"Help me, my Diamond!" she howled. "The terrible rebel zircon is going to shatter me! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

As the last word echoed hollowly against the concrete walls, no one replied, just gaped. Yellow cracked one eye open. First she locked gazes with Blue Zircon, and then she turned and saw Cranberry, Raspberry, and Ruby. Both eyes were open now. Slowly, as if in dread, she turned around and looked at the seven refugee gems.

A second more passed. Then Yellow tilted her head back and screamed.

All hell broke loose. The refugee gems scattered. Drowning out Yellow Zircon, 5XI screeched, "I'LL SHATTER YOU!" and charged at Zircon, raising her blaster. At the last possible moment — just as 5XI got close enough for Zircon to notice the bulging vein in her forehead — Raspberry Quartz shoved Zircon aside. Promptly, she snatched up 5XI by the collar like a naughty gemling.

"NO ONE will be shattering ANYONE!" Raspberry boomed. "If you want a fight, you come to me! Now SIT DOWN!"

She stomped to the nearest crate and slammed 5XI onto it, leaving the peridot silent and wavering dizzily before she crumpled to the ground, groaning. Besides 5XU, nobody paid her mind.

Fuming, Raspberry returned to Cranberry's side. Silent but now trembling, Yellow clutched at Zircon's arm as the quartz passed by. "As Raspberry said," began Cranberry, giving Yellow Zircon a reassuring look, "we don't want any trouble. Black Cherry Ruby brought these gems to us because they are in danger, because they are lost. Just like the rest of you. All we ask is that you behave civilly for just a little longer. Please."

Very little response. Some shifty looks, a mouthed bad word from Peridot 5XI, another surprisingly lethal glare from the pearl. Zircon got the feeling that while Cranberry — being a tourmaline, of course — naturally wanted to command a certain presence of leadership, there was little in this ragtag group of off-colors that wanted to be led at all.

But after Raspberry folded her arms, the gems began to disband. The hematite slunk into the corner, tilting her wide-brimmed hat over her face. The bismuth and the ruby ducked behind a stack of crates, on top of which the heliodor perched and examined her nails. The two peridots joined the pearl in a game involving dice, each looking suspiciously over their shoulders. Black Cherry Ruby reached into her gem and pulled out a ball of string and two large needles.

Several minutes later, Raspberry, Cranberry, Ruby, and both zircons surrounded a small heat lamp in a far corner. To Zircon's left was Yellow — long recovered from her panic attack and now desperately scraping at dignity — seated on a low crate that pushed her knees up to her chest. On Zircon's right was Cranberry, her high heels discarded and legs folded modestly underneath her. Raspberry held Ruby in her lap. With the speed and precision of a machine, Ruby clicked her two needles together and a length of grey lead-woven fabric grew from beneath them.

Yellow cleared her throat. "I hope," she said, "that I'm not the only one here absolutely brimming with questions."

"Of course you are," said Zircon. Yellow picked up the sarcasm immediately.

"Don't talk to me."

Zircon wisely chose not to respond. "This is my colleague, Hyacinth Zircon 1-7AN," she told the other three gems. "She was assigned to prosecution against Rose Quartz and more recently to domestic mediation between the Diamonds and myself. She also helped me escape."

"For the record, I didn't want to come with," Yellow cut in.

Zircon gave her a look. "Well, you told me to destabilize you; the reasonable assumption was be that you wanted to be taken with!"

"What part of 'I'm not getting involved' isn't stupidly clear?"

"Oh, I don't know! Perhaps the bit when you got involved!"

Yellow opened her mouth, then closed it, then tilted her nose in the air.

"Miscommunication aside, the fact is that you're here," Cranberry said, trying to steer the conversation back. "And I agree. We all have questions. So it's best, I believe, to answer them before making any more hasty assumptions."

"May I ask one first?" asked Yellow. "No offense, but what's THAT supposed to be?"

She pointed to Ruby, who had still been knitting contentedly in Raspberry's lap. Frowning, Ruby set down her needles and tilted her head.

"Oh...a, a minute ago, I foresaw that — that — that the prosecutor would insult me for no reason. Other than wanting to feel s — s — superior to someone, since she is actually quite scared."

Yellow's eyes widened. Then she blustered, "Well — I said 'no offense'!"

"It was still rude," said Ruby plainly. "I don't like you." She went back to knitting and leaned back against Raspberry, who held her close.

"Is she always like this?" Raspberry asked Zircon.

"All zircons are like this," Zircon told her. Raspberry gave her a look almost close to pity.

"You poor thing."

Yellow opened her mouth to interject, but Zircon didn't feel that it would go very well, so she held up her hand and took the lead. "Ruby...was my first client," she said, her voice tight. "She was made during the war, but emerged blind and with the power of future vision. Her agate submitted false papers saying she had been shattered, then kept her secretly for three thousand years. By the time it came to light, I was the only public defender available for the case. We won. But only on one condition. I don't remember what."

"I h — had to pay a tax," said Ruby, pausing to unravel a knot in the string. "A tax for living. 'S why I make the cloaks, gems down here need 'em. But I need 'em too."

"I've heard about those cloaks," Yellow interjected. "If I'm not mistaken, paying a pardon tax requires you to list your source of income. But even possessing that fabric is a crime. There is no way this process is legal."

"I still don't like you," said Ruby.

"We thought that too," Cranberry put in. "I mean, not that we don't like you. You're…bearable. But Cherry — Ruby did this for almost four thousand years. We're still not sure why they let her go. Part of me wants to think that...despite what the law says, that the citizens of the underworld _should_ be exterminated, it's not really how it works. And that the Diamonds take advantage of it. Cherry's an example — because she commits a crime, the Diamonds can make a profit. So until she helped us, they didn't touch her. I believe there's many, many more cases like hers."

Yellow stared at the lamp. Somehow, it was this that seemed to break her.

"Are you...okay?" Zircon asked.

"Of course," Yellow snapped, but it was weak. "It's — just — I don't like to think about this. Our Diamonds are...lawbreakers. They're allowing crime to flourish in these depths, and their biggest concerns are silencing a question that needs to be asked. The idea that they're violating the very principles that I was made for — I can't accept that. It doesn't feel right."

Her hands, gripping the sides of her crate, were trembling. Hesitantly, Zircon put her own hand over Yellow's. She knew she was unable to comfort Yellow; she barely understood it herself. But she felt it too.

"I know," she said. "Sometimes...things are different than what we read on our screens. And it's hard. But it's just how it is."

Yellow closed her eyes. For that moment, no one spoke. And for that moment, Zircon felt her own words like she was the one hearing them, as if she was looking at the picture from the outside and suddenly realized that something was new. The gem she had been before — when she locked eyes with Rose Quartz — when she woke up in the Harvester — when she faced Blue Diamond alone — when she believed there was common ground between The Way Things Should Be and The Way They Are — whoever that gem was, she was gone.

Leaving nothing but a lost rebel, holding the hand of her friend.

After the pause, Yellow turned her hand and laced her fingers clumsily through Zircon's. But she didn't say much. Just an awkward "Sorry" to the group, which was now on record as her second apology ever.

When Zircon looked back up, Cranberry had drawn closer to Raspberry. The two were whispering furtively, their words muffled by the rhythmic "click, click, click" of Ruby's knitting needles. Finally they came to a decision and sat back.

"Starlite," said Cranberry, folding her hands in her lap, "I know it's been a very difficult few rotations. And we're not forcing you into anything; we don't expect you to stay; please understand. But Raspberry and Cherry and I...we want you to come with us. Us and the other refugees. We want to go to Earth...and we wanted to know for certain if you would consent to also — "

"Yes," Zircon blurted. "Yes, I want to leave. I don't care where. Just get me off of Homeworld." Stars, that felt good to say. She felt as if she should have some sort of reluctance about leaving her only home...but for stars' sakes, she was crouching a mile below the surface in an abandoned transport terminal. If this was what home felt like, she never wanted any part of it again.

Raspberry cracked a tiny smile. "Easier than you thought, hmm?" she murmured to Cranberry, who gave her a look.

"We still need to ask the Hyacinth."

All eyes went to Yellow, who suddenly straightened up. "What?"

Zircon squeezed her hand. "Will you come to Earth with us?"

Yellow glared at her, but didn't take away her hand. Finally she let out a long, dramatic sigh. "Fine. But if you get caught, I am a hostage and had no input."

Even with the qualification, Zircon breathed a sigh of relief. "Still easier than you thought," said Raspberry.

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response." Cranberry inhaled to compose herself, then tried to meet both zircons' eyes. "Like we said before this conversation dissolved into chaos, I'm...sure you both have questions."

The zircons said nothing. There was too much to say. Cranberry and Raspberry sensed it too, but said nothing. Carefully, Ruby set down her knitting needles.

"It started with me," she whispered. "And a group of off-colors, and — and a human named Lars."

* * *

 **he he he he**

 **anyway im going to be gone until october 15 because amedot day and i wanna finsih petri dish before i get there so have fun speculating and having fun here until i get back lol**

 **pls comment**


	18. Chapter 18

There was no sound. No warmth.

At Ruby's words, Zircon's mouth opened, but no sounds came out. Inadvertently her hand hovered over her gem. She couldn't believe what she had heard — she had to toss it around her mind a couple times, shake her head, try to block out everything around her because — what in stars?! It wasn't as quiet as she'd first thought; far off she could hear a peridot talking rather loudly, the nasally tones echoing on the walls. She wanted to tell her to shut up.

Finally she echoed, "The Lars?"

"The what now?" Yellow interjected. Zircon whirled to her, appalled.

"Are you serious — Yellow, you bubbled its head! It came with Rose Quartz; are you telling me you never wondered what happened to it — ?"

"What happened to HIM," Raspberry cut in. "The humans have more than one gender. And they generally don't like being called 'it'. When you refer to Lars, you use the pronouns 'he, him, and his'."

It took a good several seconds for either zircon to understand what Raspberry meant. They looked at each other, then to Cranberry, who was nodding. "I've...never heard of those," said Zircon politely, "but thank you. Correct me if I forget."

"That's not a thing," Yellow Zircon respond. "I call schist."

Raspberry sniffed. "Deal with it, Banana Boat."

Yellow stared, then opened a screen from her monocle. "Libra, define 'banana boat'."

Zircon leaned over and suggested, "Look up 'gender' next. Anyway. That's...not important right now. The Lars is a 'he'. And he — Ruby. You know he?"

"Him," Raspberry corrected. Cranberry put her hand on Raspberry's arm.

"Grammar lessons can wait, love."

"We — we all do," said Ruby. She still had her knitting needles and was beginning to knit a little pattern into the scarf, making little swirls and braids in the fabric. "He s — sh — s — saved us."

"You saved us," said Raspberry, her voice now soft. Ruby just shrugged.

Cranberry noticed the confusion on both zircons' faces and nodded. "About five hundred years ago, Raspberry arrested Cherry for selling without a license. But before we could decide what to do with her, she took off her blindfold, looked at me and Raspberry, and said, 'If you shatter me, you will never see the quartz again'."

The silence was so thick that it felt like it encased them, freezing each of them in place. Then Ruby untangled a knot, made a satisfied little "Ah!" and began clicking her knitting needles again.

"I thought it was a threat," said Raspberry Quartz.

"And rightly so," murmured Cranberry.

"But Cran wanted to hear her out. So we did. She...she knew that me and Cran had been fusing, even though we hadn't told anyone. She told us that nobody else knew yet, but that the next time we fused, one of my quartzes would see us and report it. I'd be shards before the suns rose."

Cranberry picked up the story. "So I did the research and found out about Cherry's future vision. As shallow as it sounds, Raspberry and I decided that it could be used to our advantage, so we submitted a false report saying that she was being detained at our facility for minor infractions. Every time we wanted to fuse, we would ask her, and she would tell us the possible ways that we could get caught."

"But she kinda grew on us." A ghost of a smile flickered across Raspberry's usual scowl. As if sensing the smile, Ruby turned around in Raspberry's lap and reached up.

"Hug?" Ruby asked. Sighing, Raspberry gave it. After a second, Cranberry leaned in and Raspberry put her arm around her, too.

"About a month ago," Cranberry said, "Cherry had a vision that we couldn't prevent. She said — no matter what, we were going to be found out. Our options were being shattered or fleeing Homeworld for good."

"That was when we found you," said Raspberry, "and Ruby found Lars' gems."

As Ruby wriggled out of the hug, Cranberry found her little hand and squeezed it. "We told her not to, but Cherry often left the facility to sell her cloaks to underworld gems. Then one day, she came back and told us, 'You aren't alone." She said she foresaw a disturbance in Sector One, so she followed it. To an abandoned kindergarten."

"Th — there — the gems were there," said Ruby. "Off-colors like us. A — another fusion, Rhodonite. And another, F, Fluorite. A sapphire. And con — conjoined twins. Rutile."

"Cherry likes Rutile. A lot," Raspberry Quartz grinned.

Ruby fumbled with her needles. "N — no I don't!"

Cranberry Tourmaline pretended that no interruption had occurred. She laced her fingers together in her lap. "Starlite," she said softly, meeting Zircon's eyes, "Cherry found Lars at the same time that Raspberry found you. Both you and Lars came to my facility in the same rotation, you arriving first by about an hour. After you left, I asked Lars for help, and he said he could give it, and explained. About you and Rose Quartz.

Zircon's gut tightened at the name. "Was — was she with Lars?"

"No. Fortunately. She escaped Homeworld and returned to Earth...Lars offered to send us in the same way, but it was...strange. I don't know how to explain it. It's such a long story. But we decided to wait, and hide here, and gather other gems. You, if we could. When we last contacted Lars, he said...Rose is worried for you."

Oh, stars. Zircon looked at her hands, suddenly feeling alone. As if a burden she had carried for miles was lifted off her back. And to think that she had carried it so long when she had missed relief by an hour…

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Zircon, her voice pathetically small. "I didn't care WHO had Rose Quartz; all I wanted was to find her! I would've gone with you! Hah — do you understand what the Diamonds put me through?"

Her voice shot up. She'd even slipped into an old habit, gesticulating wildly with her arms. She accidentally hit Yellow's leg, but suddenly, she was too angry to care.

"Blue Diamond ordered me to spy on Yellow Diamond, right under her nose! And do you know who just achieved the record for 'Most Times Poofed By Yellow Diamond In One Month'? Yes, ME! I have had at least THREE separate mental breakdowns in the past several rotations and what you tell me is that they were PREVENTABLE?!"

"Excuse you," Raspberry snapped.

Zircon locked eyes with her. "Excuse ME?"

"Yes, excuse you," she replied. "Don't you dare talk to Cranberry like that. She risked her gem for you once, and this is how you — "

She stopped when Cranberry put her hand on her arm. "Let her speak," was all Cranberry said. But suddenly, Zircon lost the nerve. Cranberry was looking at the heat lamp in the center of the circle, her face worn. Almost sad.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Zircon echoed.

Cranberry sighed. She was fiddling with her silver bracelets again, pushing them around and around her wrists. She closed her eyes.

"I was a coward. I knew you were still loyal to Blue Diamond, and I know what she thinks of inter-type fusion. Cherry foresaw one future where you would tell Blue Diamond about the Off-Colors, and...terrible things happened. It wouldn't matter that Blue Diamond wanted you. If she knew about me and Raspberry, or the rhodonite fusion, or Fluorite...it would be over for us. So I let you go. I'm sorry."

The bracelets kept spinning. Zircon wanted to be angry with Cranberry Tourmaline, and she knew she would be justified — but she couldn't make herself believe it. If Zircon had the right to be angry, Cranberry had the right to be scared. Blue Diamond wasn't merciful. She was fickle, manipulative, unpredictable. In a universe where the trial of Rose Quartz had never happened, Zircon might have been the public defender who watched Cranberry and Raspberry be dragged away for shattering.

"You did what you had to," Zircon finally said, her voice tight in her throat. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. The important thing now is that Rose Quartz is safe, and so are we."

"Not nec — ne — necessarily," murmured Ruby.

"I don't mean to intrude...or disrespect," said Yellow Zircon, "but the ruby is very depressing."

"But she's right," said Raspberry. "Zircon, every patrol in Homeworld swarmed down here for you. Whether or not we're safe depends entirely on _what the stars you did up there."_

Escaping the trial. It seemed so long ago, and yet it had only happened less than a rotation prior. Suddenly weary, Zircon slumped back against the wall — she really didn't like being constantly reminded that she was a fugitive.

"Like I said," she sighed, "Blue Diamond assigned me to spy on Yellow Diamond for information. When I was caught and put on trial, Yellow helped me escape. It wasn't very subtle, which explains the search patrols."

"Not my fault," Yellow put in.

"I wasn't saying it was."

"It was implied."

"Or so you assume. Anyway, yes, I get it. All of Homeworld wants me ground up until you could blow me away with an industrial fan. All I want is to pretend, for a second, that things are looking up. Is that really so much to ask?"

Yellow Zircon snorted. Cranberry and Raspberry exchanged glances and seemed to communicate silently again before Raspberry rolled her eyes and Cranberry nodded.

"Alright. You can rest," said Cranberry. "I'm sure the other gems will be curious, so we'll let them know not to bother you two until you're ready. It really has been such a long day…"

A few more things were said but Zircon automatically tuned them out, now unable to forget the concept of rest. It was suddenly very noticeable how much her feet hurt, how grimy her hands were, how rumpled her pants had gotten. Not soon enough, Raspberry and Cranberry stood to leave, Ruby floating between them. "We'll leave you alone for one rotation," said Raspberry, "but since nobody can tell time down here, we'll come back whenever we want."

"Sure," said Yellow Zircon. Once the three were out of sight, she leaned over and whispered to Zircon, "I don't like them."

"You haven't exactly made the best impression on them," Zircon remarked.

"I'm willing to bet that you haven't either."

She sighed. "No." Uncomfortable as she sat on the stone floor, Zircon pushed the heat lamp away and slowly shifted until she was lying on her side, resting her head on her arm. She wasn't sure why she always lay down when tired. She got nothing out of it except a sore arm later. But it felt natural — like someday, she would lie down and something wonderful would happen, draining her exhaustion and filling her with energy for the first time since she crawled out of her Kindergarten. "But I think…they trust me. I don't know why. And Rose Quartz was WORRIED for me."

Yellow followed her lead, laying down on the ground next to Zircon. Between them, the only sounds were echoes in the background, voices of rebels and runaways. Hushed. Insistent. Hesitantly, Yellow reached out and fingered the hem of Blue Zircon's cravat.

"It's softer," she said.

"I wasn't thinking about it," Zircon replied.

Yellow shrugged the best she could while lying on her side. It was then that Zircon noticed the new pattern on Yellow's jacket — the bottom had lost its notch and the fastenings ran all the way down to the hem. The dark yellow stripe led straight up now, draping over her shoulders. Just like the new pattern on Blue Zircon's vest.

"Could you have possibly gotten more 'frack the Diamonds; I'm a rebel now' with that outfit?" Blue remarked dryly. Yellow just groaned.

"If we're going to make a habit out of mocking things I said to mock you," said Yellow, "at least give me warning. That hurt."

It was Blue's turn to reach out and trail her fingers up Yellow's jacket, brushing the cravat. "Was it on purpose?"

"I wasn't thinking about it either." Her face was flushed a deep ochre.

As if to escape the conversation, Yellow moved onto her back, tucking her arms behind her head, so Blue didn't pursue it. And so they lay under the concrete sky, imagining the stars beyond. Then Yellow sighed.

"You're brave," she said. "And I'm obedient. That's why they like you."

When Blue looked over, Yellow had taken off her monocle and was running her fingers down the edges. She put it back and pulled up a oval screen that floated above them, awaiting a command. But neither of them gave one and Yellow waved it away.

"Rest," Yellow barely whispered.

Weary, Blue closed her eyes. "Rest."

Her lips formed the word, but no sound came out.

* * *

 **sorry for the info dump but it had to happen somewhere. plots getting real y'all**

 **about half of the next chapter is already written and the remainder of this fic is sketched out! I'm so close that I'm planning the sequel already (epicinium, after the latin for aftermath).**

 **BONUS! for the amino people i released 5 two-syllable hints in the order that they will happen in the fanfic, so i'll drop em here too. y'all are pretty great at theorizingbr /**

 **1.) too far**

 **2.) bubble**

 **3.) revenge**

 **4.) khaoi (this is the hard one — but one of my fanfics absolutely has a hint!)**

 **5.) kisses**

 **anyway have at it, pls leave comments — unlike my ungrateful petri dish regulars, only three of whom actually reviewed the damn EPILOGUE**

 **still saltier than yellow zircon**


	19. Chapter 19

**DISCLAIMER: I forgot to post the chapters here! sorry guys; i didn't get any reviews and i kind of just assumed that it was. like normal. BOTH chapter 19 and 20 will be posted today.**

* * *

"Right! Left! Pivot — parry!"

Sweat poured down Zircon's face, her loose curls sticking to her bare neck and cheeks. Every time Raspberry's voice cracked out, Zircon scrambled to respond with her hands tight around her pole and her legs burning from strain. Every once in a while, her gaze would flick left, where a thin ghost mirrored her actions — the aqua pearl, her gauzy shawl still whirling freely around her even as she swung her cheap, dainty sword.

Or it would have been a mirror, if Zircon was actually good.

The combat drills took place deep in the transport station, in a great warehouse filled with rusting transports and crumbling storage units. The peridots had gotten one spotlight working and set the blinding white beam to shine down on a vacant platform. The spotlight circle, about forty feet in diameter, was the "training ring". Everyone not assigned to the ring sat just outside in the darkness, watching the victims inside the light. In this case, Blue Zircon and the pearl.

Like an agate, Raspberry Quartz stood at the very edge of the ring, her wild white hair casting a deep shadow across her face. Her arms were folded under a dark red officer's capelet. In a dark corner in the back of her mind, Zircon couldn't help but brood on the clear power imbalance — while Raspberry wore the capelet, she had ordered Zircon to take off her vest, cravat, and headscarf "for better mobility".

"Can't mobilize what's clumsy to begin with," Zircon grumbled to herself.

She was missing half of Raspberry's orders, and she could feel the quartz's glare drilling into her form. At long last the orders stopped. "Return," Raspberry said, striding up to them. As always, the pearl was first.

"Pearl, you did well. As for improvement — it may seem counterintuitive, but I want you to loosen your sword-hand grip in slashing movements. I'd rather have a gentle, precise cut than an angry, inaccurate one."

"Yes, Raspberry."

"If you want to strangle something, don't take it out on the sword. Save it until you meet You-Know-Who again."

A grotesque grin crept up the pearl's face. "Of course."

"Good. You may rest for now. Zircon, return to ready stance. I want to see your Sequence 2 again. Ready!"

Gaping, Zircon watched the pearl stride proudly out of the spotlight, her slim hips swaying. "Wh — aren't you going to tell me what I can improve?" Zircon protested, gesturing vaguely towards the pearl. Raspberry returned to her place at the edge of the ring, next to where Cranberry Tourmaline sat silently on a crate.

"Sure. Everything," said Raspberry tersely. "Begin Sequence 2, again! Right! Left! Pivot — parry!"

Like someone tied by strings, Zircon jerked back into the patterned movements. Her teeth ground together. She knew her execution was clumsy, but she couldn't control it; she felt more like a puppet than a warrior. No control or precision. All gangly limbs and no force. She knew she should be focusing on doing her best, rather than wallowing in self pity, but the best was somewhere she couldn't reach. This was all she could do. Even a PEARL was better than her! At least SHE had a —

"Return," Raspberry ordered in the middle of a movement. Startled, Zircon stumbled, but suddenly caught by Raspberry's large hands on her thin shoulders. The unamused quartz lifted her clean off the ground before putting her back on her feet. Her finger jabbed into Zircon's chest.

"You need to focus," she said.

Despite the pressure on her chest just below her gem, Zircon glared right back. "Oh, and do tell, focus on what? This piece of junk you gave me for a weapon?" She gestured to the rusted metal pole, which looked like it had been pulled off a machine. "You gave the PEARL a sword!"

"Pearl knows how to not hit herself," replied Raspberry. "YOU have two bruises on your forehead from your own 'piece of junk'. Now return to position. Prepare for Sequence 1."

Again, she returned to her place next to Cranberry, and Zircon accidentally locked eyes with the tourmaline. Her cheeks swelled with heat. It seemed like every time she was around Cranberry, Zircon was drenched in grime and sweat, jacketless and vulnerable. Making an absolute buffoon out of herself.

"This is humiliating," Zircon muttered, hoping Raspberry wouldn't hear. No such luck.

"Nobody's looking at you," Raspberry told her.

It was only sort of true. There was Cranberry. Aqua Pearl, while polishing her sword, glared up intermittently. Most of the other gems conversed among themselves, not even facing the ring. Ruby faced Zircon, but she was still very much blind. The exceptions were the peridots.

"We're looking," yelled Peridot 5XI. "It's hilarious."

"They're looking," Zircon agreed pointedly. "So is my former rival."

Zircon turned around to look at Yellow, who was sitting behind her on the sidelines and smirking. "Hmm? Oh no, don't worry. I'm watching something far more interesting."

Raspberry glared at the peridots and Yellow Zircon. "Go salvage for parts or something."

"Please," added Cranberry.

Begrudgingly, the three troublemakers slunk into the warehouse, lighting their gems to see. Raspberry clapped her hands for Zircon's attention and folded her arms.

"This time," Raspberry told her, "I will intervene. You will not have warning except this: I will attack with a simple overhead swing with the flat of my blade. Be ready to break form and parry or I WILL hit you."

"Great," Zircon forced between her teeth.

"Ready — back! Parry! Parry! Thrust! Back!"

Just as she'd been taught an hour ago, Zircon slid her gloved hands down her pole into a wide grip, her front hand closer to her chest and back hand near her hip. Then she lunged into the sequence — or tried.

Raspberry was speeding up. If Zircon was late, the next order would be given, then changed at the last second, making Zircon slip and scramble to complete it. Then she was MORE late. Her face reddened more, from rage as much as shame. Soon, her train of thought dissolved into a jumbled string of curse words. Frack...schist….filthy muddy clod of a —

WHOOSH!

She hadn't seen it coming. But suddenly, her body froze and her eyes homed in on a glimmer of silver just above her nose...and the quartz's scowl right behind it.

While Zircon had been slogging through formations, Raspberry had drawn her weapon and swung down. The flat of the blade hovered an inch above Zircon's forehead. It was a saxe knife — heavy, two feet long, glimmering in the harsh light.

Then she stepped back and threw the knife to the ground, where it clattered and vanished in a shower of sparks.

"Raspberry…" Cranberry Tourmaline warned, standing up.

"I've seen enough," Raspberry snapped. "We need to talk. The rest of you, review your sequences or make yourself useful."

Before Zircon could protest, Raspberry grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the spotlight. There was no protest then on. Raspberry's hand could have circled Zircon's whole waist. They passed Cranberry Tourmaline and Zircon tried to meet her eyes, hoping for a sympathetic look, but all she got was a disappointed frown. "That's your problem now," she seemed to say.

Raspberry took Zircon away from the crowd and behind a rusted piece of machinery, where it was dark and blue. As soon as Raspberry's grip relaxed, Zircon wrenched her arm away and stood up straight. Her wounded pride flared hot in her chest — she could NOT let herself be talked down to. Almost spontaneously, her vest and cravat appeared over her chest, then her scarf on her head. The sweat was still there and her hands trembled from fatigue. But at least she had her ego.

"What's your problem?" Raspberry hissed.

"I'm not doing that," said Zircon, pulling her monocle out of her gem and setting it elegantly on her nose. She knew it was a petty fight, but she couldn't think of anything except this. All she wanted was for Raspberry to get out of her hair. "You know perfectly well that I can't fight. You're making a fool of me."

Raspberry's eyes narrowed. "l'm afraid you've been doing that yourself. You're not trying."

"Says who?"

"Says YOU. If you were working so hard, you wouldn't have the energy to put on that damn scarf thing."

Schist. Zircon was now glad for the darkness, because her face had turned a deep blue. As she waited for a reply that wouldn't come, Raspberry leaned against a concrete column, ran her hand through her hair, and sighed.

"Look," she said, "you DO understand why we're doing this. We're training you to fight because you don't have a weapon, and you don't know how to use the ones you're given. If you wanna make it off this planet, you gotta get with the program. Homeworld won't sit down and talk it out with you."

"Yes. I get that. I wasn't made yesterday."

"The Diamond's special agents aren't going to wait 'til you're ready. If you can't focus while I'm holding your polished little hand, you won't last five seconds out there. Am I clear?"

She didn't sound mad anymore. Just apathetic, like she didn't even care, like she had all the permission to fling her power around whenever she pleased. That's what made Zircon's gem go hot. She knew Raspberry was right. But she was crabby and fatigued and she didn't like being told what to do and most of all she didn't want to be the one to give in. And something snapped.

Her movements sharp, her hands shaking, Zircon gripped the pole in her hands and threw it to the ground between herself and Raspberry. The quartz flinched back, her hands jerking towards her face.

"I'm done," Zircon snarled. "And I'm sorry I can't fight like a — like some brainless chunk of granite."

The insult dripped out like a leaky faucet, losing strength as it came. In terms of comebacks, it wasn't one of Zircon's best. She was even about to push forward, covering up the poor ending with something even sharper — until she saw Raspberry's face. Her eyes were wide, her expression tense but frozen. As if taken off guard. For a second, she even looked like she wanted to cry.

Then Raspberry stormed away, her hands clenched into fists. "Good riddance," she growled. For a minute afterwards Zircon stood still, staring at the place where Raspberry had been.

And for the first time, Zircon wondered what she had said.


	20. Chapter 20

**like i said on the last chapter (chapter 19): I FORGOT TO POST CHAPTERS 19 AND 20 HERE! please go back to chapter 19 if you haven't read it.**

 **if the last thing you remember was a gratuitous courtship scene, then you're in the wrong place — go back!**

* * *

When Zircon trudged back to the training ring, she first saw two things: Cherry Ruby floating at eye level with Cranberry Tourmaline, speaking worriedly with her; then Cranberry Tourmaline running off. There had been several rebel gems in the ring, practicing with various weapons, but now they all stopped and stared. At Zircon. Ruby just kept floating, her blindfolded head tilted low.

"Everyone, t, take a rest," said Ruby.

"What happened?" Zircon asked, unsure if she wanted an answer. As the gems disbanded, some of them glared. Ouch.

"I foresaw that you, you would offend Raspberry. Almost certainly."

"It can't have been that bad," said Zircon.

"There is one future where you — you — you are better off t — t — t — turning yourself to the Diamonds."

Oh. Oh, dear.

"Oh dear indeed," said Ruby before floating away.

And Zircon was left alone at the edge of the circle of light. When she looked around, she saw only hostile, unfamiliar faces — Yellow Zircon was nowhere to be seen; Cranberry was seemingly gone for good; even the peridots had stayed true to Raspberry's order that they leave the training alone. So she turned her back and set off into the warehouse, lighting her gem for solace.

She had long since gotten used to the dark, to being alone — if she hadn't, she would have lost her mind in the underworld. But she still didn't like it. All around her, the dead bodies of transports rusted away on their tracks, like sleeping beasts. The faintest of echoes, of gems' voices, twittered above in the spiderweb of rafters. A chill ran under her gem.

When she turned a corner, she was suddenly greeted with three spots of light. Three figures — two green, one yellow — milled about inside the head of one transport, poking and prodding at things. "There's no possible way that it could still work," said a very familiar voice.

"You hear that, 5XU?" someone else cackled. "This zircon thinks she knows more about tech than us! Hey, clod, how 'bout you tell me which of these forty deka-wires connects to the hypoquantum microaccelerator?"

"Careful," 5XU giggled, "last time we input the wrong one, we died."

The peridots burst into laughter, the nasally shrieks echoing throughout the warehouse. Zircon almost wanted to join them, just so she could poke some more fun at Yellow Zircon. But she didn't feel comfortable being virtually alone in a dark area with those two peridots, and something still hadn't settled in her gut. As she walked away, wringing her hands, she wondered again.

She couldn't remember what had been the breaking point — things had just been flying, and in the heat of the moment, she knew she'd said SOMETHING to Raspberry. It was like nowhere, something shot out and hit a nerve. Or opened a fresh wound. And instead of yelling back, which Zircon had expected, something which Zircon could handle, Raspberry turned on her heel and left. She couldn't explain it to herself.

But before she could think any further, she rounded a corner and crashed right into Cranberry Tourmaline.

"Schist — " Zircon spluttered, stumbling back. Immediately she got her bearings and went to help Cranberry — but only to find that she hadn't fallen at all. Even though her high heels put her just at Zircon's height, she seemed to tower over her. Her eyes glinted with anger.

"What did you tell her?" asked Cranberry. It was soft, neutral, but somehow more threatening like that. Zircon gulped.

"I — I don't remember, I just got angry, I didn't intend to be offensive — "

"Brainless chunk of granite."

Oh. She had forgotten about that. Hadn't thought about it either. "W — well, I didn't mean it like THAT," she blustered, perfectly aware that this was a flimsy defense. It was the best she had. "It wasn't for her. It just slipped out. I was just saying, in GENERAL, perhaps I'm not fit to train at a quartz's level…"

"That's not what it's about."

Cranberry looked down and away before hopping up on a nearby platform, her feet slowly swinging. Awkward, Zircon took the cue and sat next to her. She sighed.

"Your training level — is another problem. I want to talk about that later. But there's — I mean — oh, I don't know how to say this…"

"It's okay," said Zircon automatically. But Cranberry shook her head.

"It's not about me. You hurt Raspberry. You might not have meant it to be...well...against her, but...the fact is you said it at all."

The words on their own were simple. Together, Zircon wasn't so sure. "I don't understand," she said, because she did not.

Another blow to her pride. But she supposed she deserved it.

"Zircon?"

"Huh?"

"Do you think quartzes are stupid?"

The question took her off guard. "Wh...what? Of course not!" she said, but it was just as automatic as the "it's okay". She knew there was more than that.

It wasn't what her gut told her to think. It was what the proper rebel would say.

"You're not being honest," Cranberry said.

"I know I'm not," Zircon murmured, her fists clenching. "But I know where you're going with this."

"Where would that be?"

It was Zircon's turn to sigh. "I know what Homeworld wants me to believe, that quartzes...that they ARE less intelligent, and that they're disposable. I've even argued against it before. I don't WANT to agree with it. But at the same time, it's…degrading to be ordered around by a quartz. It makes me uncomfortable. So the slur slipped out."

She dared to meet Cranberry's eyes to gauge her reaction, which she was certain was bad. But Cranberry's face was stoic, non-reacting. "Go on."

It felt like a trap. It probably was. Another, longer sigh. "Because you love Raspberry, you're going to tell me that I'm wrong. I get that. I shouldn't have said anything in anger. I don't understand why she reacted the way she did; why couldn't she just tell me to stop?"

"I have ideas," Cranberry said softly. "But I don't know for sure. And it isn't my place to. All I know is that you hurt her."

"But I didn't mean to."

"But taking orders from a quartz makes you uncomfortable?

Oh. Zircon's argument shriveled up in her throat, strangled by what she knew was dead hypocrisy. The clear knowledge that maybe one insult ran deeper than the surface. Then, without warning, it bubbled into a small laugh, uncontrollable, manic.

"Ahah...oh, stars. You're right," she cried. With a half-snort, she slapped her own forehead. "I'm sorry. I'm wrong. I'm just — I'm so confused! I wish I understood all this, this EQUALITY business, but I still feel like — like — like one foot is in this world, and the other's in the Diamonds' courts. I never got the proper introduction. I don't even know what I'm saying — ha!"

For the first time that day, a smile ghosted across Cranberry's lips. "Honestly, few of us ever do. Welcome to rebellion."

"Rebellion."

Zircon's lips shaped the word. For a second, she held it, and she felt a surge of adrenaline in her chest, like it was really hers. She wondered if the grey area was the heart of rebellion. She wondered if Rose Quartz had ever felt like this — like she was doing everything wrong, like understanding wasn't coming fast enough, like there was a hole in her ideology that she wanted to fill, but couldn't find. Then the surge burst forth into another mass of giggles.

"Oh, stars. I'm sorry. This is embarrassing. I — I should go apologize. Instead of being a useless wreck of emotions that I'm too tired to deal with right now."

Sharply, Zircon stood up and turned to go, then froze when a hand rested on her shoulder. "Wait," Cranberry said. "I'm going with you. She's…hard to approach right now."

The cryptically-worded explanation provided more questions than answers. But Zircon wasn't about to argue. Nodding, she let Cranberry's dainty hand slip into the crook of her arm and the two set off.

It didn't take long to realize what Cranberry had meant. At some point in time, Zircon's subconscious had registered an irregular pattern of clatters and crashes somewhere deep in the warehouse, but dismissed it under the reasoning that it must be the peridots working on their transport. Then Cranberry led her around a heap of wreckage and Zircon saw the real source.

Raspberry Quartz had cleared out an entire section of the warehouse, about four hundred feet in diameter. Around the outskirts was junk in various states of disassembly — a cluster of metal rails seemed to have even been crushed and molded into a ball. Unlike most of the warehouse, whose floor was overtaken with a tangle of metal tracks, the floor here was bare, scorched, with violent grooves ripped through the cracked concrete.

A white-and-pink blur raced around the clearing. Raspberry. With terrifying force, she crashed into a pile of junk, sending shrapnel flying — only to emerge holding an engine the size of her entire upper body. Growling, she held it between both hands and pushed in, crumpling the engine like an aluminum can.

Zircon gulped.

"Raspberry!" Cranberry called.

The quartz's head shot up, a vicious glare on her face. The glare only sharpened when her eyes landed on Zircon. Inadvertently, Zircon shrank behind Cranberry Tourmaline, who was unfazed.

"Raspberry, someone has an apology for you," said Cranberry.

Raspberry Quartz responded by throwing the crumpled engine straight in the air and, with a tremendous roundhouse kick, flinging it across the warehouse. "Sure she does," she yelled back. "Because you wanna make me feel better, and she wants to sucker up to you."

Cranberry's hand tensed slightly. "This is Zircon's apology, not mine."

"Sure it is."

The sarcasm in her voice was painful. Zircon inadvertently flinched. "L — look," she tried, "I shouldn't have used that term; it was insensitive of m — "

"Like fault it was!" Raspberry snapped. Her voice was loud enough to echo throughout the warehouse. "'Insensitive', my facet — you know how they justify the use of quartz soldiers? Yeah, it's okay to send them out by the MILLIONS to get shattered in a war, because THEY'RE NOT SMART ENOUGH TO CARE! And that's just INSENSITIVE!"

She threw herself into a spin dash and rocketed across the clearing, smashing into the skeleton of a transport. The vehicle flew back and Raspberry jumped to her feet, fists clenched, shoulders heaving. In the dim blue light, a tear glinted on her cheek.

"I don't want your pity," Raspberry growled. "I wanna forget that I ever thought, hey, maybe this zircon's DIFFERENT."

She stomped away, vanishing behind a heap of debris. "Oh," said Cranberry dejectedly, which was hardly enough to sum up what Zircon was feeling. Perhaps Raspberry Quartz was never overreacting to begin with. Her chest ached.

"Great," Zircon half-whispered. "What now?"

Cranberry hesitated, then shook her head. "I don't know. She wasn't like this when I was alone with her..."

"That's because she's in love with you."

The tourmaline's face flushed a shade darker. "That...might be the problem. She thinks I'm making you apologize just to comfort her."

Slowly, Cranberry's hand slipped out of the crook of Zircon's arm, instead moving up to cradle her own forehead. Like a frazzled kindergartener, wondering what to do with a misbehaving gemling. There was something wrong with it — this wasn't Cranberry's responsibility. It wasn't her rebellion. And Zircon knew what she had to do.

"I'm going to talk to her. On my own," said Zircon. Her eyes flicked over a steel sheet that looked like it had been ripped in two, and a knot tightened in her gut. But she had to do this.

Cranberry looked doubtful as well, but she didn't disagree. "Okay," she sighed. "But be careful."

Zircon didn't like to think of why she needed the warning. But she had a mistake to fix, and she wasn't backing out of this one. Nodding, she turned and set off into the warehouse to find Raspberry Quartz.

.

Somewhere further off, but not very far, Yellow Zircon fell on her face.

She had been sitting in the driver's seat of a transport, polishing her gem and using the grimy windshield as a mirror. In an hour, the only thing the two obnoxious peridots had managed to fix was the lightbulb in the driver's cabin. Then they had left Yellow here — alone — to sit on a bursting cushion that reeked of dust and mold and disrepair. Apparently, they were "working" on the engine. Yellow had a hard time believing that.

Then the transport, without warning, lurched forward three feet and send Yellow tumbling.

Pain shot up her nose and through her head — she banged both against the dashboard. For some reason, she yelled, "Who's there?!" Now, she was crumpled on the floor, dizzy and frightened.

Almost immediately after the movement stopped, metal feet clattered up a service ladder. A hatch in the floor spat out a cloud of smoke and the two peridots.

"WE DONE IT!" 5XI hollered. Giggling, 5XU sprang into the driver's seat.

Yellow pushed herself up and wiped the back of her hand under her nose. She was bleeding a little, and to her chagrin it had dripped onto her jacket. Nothing permanent. "Excuse me," she glared at 5XU. "That's my seat."

"You can't drive a transport," replied 5XU gleefully. She began to press buttons and pull levers on the dashboard; and the ancient transport responded with clicks, pops, whirs. It was...working?

"That's impossible," Yellow murmured. "This thing has to be tens of thousands of years old…"

"Seventy thousand, hotshot!" 5XI replied, leaning into a cabinet full of wires. "The systems are so primitive, their coding language doesn't exist anymore!"

Grinning wickedly, she jammed two cords together. The transport responded with a roar — the lights flickered, the floor jolted out from underneath them again, and when Yellow looked up out of the window she realized they were MOVING. Slowly, but assuredly, the ancient wheels shrieked against the rails for the first time since before the birth of Pink Diamond herself.

"Oh my stars," murmured Yellow, her hand floating up to her mouth. "Oh my stars…"

5XU giggled and pulled a lever the size of her entire arm, making the transport jolt again. Suddenly, they were going a little faster. "It's pointless!" 5XU yelled over the roar of the train. "We can't take it anywhere — this track is blocked off on both ends!" But she was still smiling. And neither peridot called to stop the train.

"Then why are we still going?!" Yellow shrieked.

"Why WOULDN'T we keep going?" 5XI cackled. Pushing past Yellow, she joined 5XU at the front and stuck her head out a shattered side window. "THIS IS FRACKIN' AWESOME!"

Stars. Her gut in a giant knot, Yellow hunched over and slumped against the wall, holding onto a rusting rail for balance. She had to admit, it was kind of fascinating. It was rare for an upper crust like her to ever feel the sensation of uncontrolled movement — high-class modern ships and transports were specially engineered to never disturb the passengers inside. With this ancient transport, she could FEEL herself moving. And the resulting rush of excitement coursing through her body was...a little addictive.

Logic said "get off". She even opened her mouth to make the request. But suddenly, that wasn't what she asked.

Instead, it was, "Can we go faster?"

It took a second for the peridots to respond, as if they were taken off guard. 5XI turned around to stare at Yellow, and 5XU didn't take her eyes off the tracks, but Yellow could see her shocked expression reflecting in the glass.

Then the grin spread across 5XI's face again. "Well. That's more like it," she said. "XU, take it up a notch. Let's show this zircon what our baby can do."

Together, they reached to one lever and pulled it, letting the train inch forward a little faster. The thrill was all-consuming. Involuntarily, Yellow Zircon let out a giggle, and she shuffled to the broken side window so she could lean out and watch the tracks pass beneath them.

But even still, something said it wasn't a good idea.


	21. Chapter 21

It took two minutes for Blue Zircon to realize two things: one, that Raspberry Quartz had hidden herself very well; and two, that Cranberry was following her.

Every once in a while, an echo that she thought was her own footstep wouldn't sound quite right, as if off tempo. At one point, she whipped around and caught a flash of pink darting behind a trash bin.

The first of the two things made sense. Of course it would take forever to find Raspberry. She knew the warehouse better than Zircon; she probably had a whole handful of sulking corners. Zircon had even begun thinking that it was foolish to gallivant into the unknown without a guide.

But the second thing, Zircon could understand only minimally. Tourmalines were worriers by nature. They had to be if they were to do their jobs, which was making sure things happened when they needed to — or for being the shoulder to cry on for higher class gems. The happy medium between an agate and a mental therapy pearl. Zircon supposed this qualified both categories. And of course Cranberry would worry about Raspberry's reaction to Zircon; it wasn't like the last one had been at all successful.

But still. It was somewhat unnerving, seeing Cranberry just out of the corner of her eye, following thirty feet behind and to the left of her.

Only by luck did Zircon finally find the runaway Raspberry Quartz. Along one wall of the warehouse ran a series of transport tunnels, most of them blocked off or spilling with disintegrating transport cars. But one was empty, its tracks seemingly pulled into the black hole by gravity alone. Only one thing broke it: a marble of pink light. Just under it, the outline of a face and fists. Raspberry.

Taking a deep breath, Zircon stepped forward into the tunnel — and then stopped as her foot crunched in gravel. Raspberry whirled around. For a second, her eyes met Zircon's...and then she put out the light of her gem and disappeared. But there was no sound of movement.

"Raspberry?" Zircon said.

No response. Tentatively, Zircon stepped forward again. She couldn't see in the inky darkness anymore, but estimated it would only take ten or so steps to reach Raspberry. It did. Her hand brushed a soft tuft of hair —

"Don't touch me," Raspberry snapped.

Zircon startled back. Her eyes had adjusted; Raspberry was curled up against the crumbling back wall of the shallow tunnel, her back turned to Zircon. Cornered. She had nowhere to go. Like this, she was smaller than Zircon. But there were also narrowed eyes, bared teeth, curled fists. So Zircon stepped back.

"Okay," she said. "I'm sorry. Next time, I'll ask."

"There won't be a next time. Get away from me." Raspberry tucked her head down again.

"I wanted to apologize for — "

"I don't care. If you knew what it meant when you opened your fool mouth, you wouldn't BE here."

The silence that fell was deafening. Zircon stepped back, her hand over her mouth. "But...I…"

"I said GET OUT!"

As loud as it was, Raspberry's voice wobbled. Zircon flinched. Without thinking, she turned and sprinted back to the mouth of the tunnel.

This was a whole load of pointless.

Wearily, she began to pace, rubbing her forehead. She could see Cranberry Tourmaline from here, clearly thinking that she was well hidden behind an old billboard — but not, because her pink shoes showed in the gap underneath. Suddenly, something flared hot in Zircon's chest. She wanted to face Cranberry and tell her that she was wrong; Raspberry clearly didn't care about how sorry Zircon felt. All that stupid quartz wanted was to keep holding her grudge forever. It was just one word; why did she have to take it so seriously; why couldn't she just forgive Zircon and then this whole ordeal would be over —

Her foot bumped against something hard and cold. Something that clinked.

When she looked down, she saw that it was a chain — each loop the size of her fist, the surfaces rusted from the eons but its strength yet preserved. At first, Zircon thought it must have been an old piece of equipment. There were plenty of those down here...but her eyes, subconsciously, followed the length of chain as it wound across the floor. Then they widened.

At the end of the chain was a giant iron collar, large enough to wrap around Zircon's entire waist. When she knelt and brushed her fingers across it, the rust gave way to a line of carvings. A diamond, a word in a language she didn't know, and a number: "10011". Perhaps once, the diamond had been painted a color. Perhaps once, the word might have meant something. But now the shackle lay disused on the ground, its bolt still tightly shut, forever locked around the ghost of 10011.

Brainless chunk of granite.

Zircon couldn't say who 10011 was, what had happened to her, why her collar was here. She could have been a quartz; she could have been a topaz; she could have been a primordial being, something wilder, whatever walked the surface of Homeworld back when this WAS a surface.

But, as she knelt in the dust, holding 10011's collar, one thing rushed upon Zircon in total clarity: this was not a thing of the past.

Of course she had studied her history. But she couldn't remember a time when the quartz was respected without having to fight for it. They were expected to take whatever abuse was thrown at them. What was a soldier who pitied herself? What was a soldier who lashed back when she was called impure or defective? She was none at all — and Zircon knew this.

And yet it was still so hard to wrap her mind around. She couldn't help but still be angry. Maybe what they both needed was a little space, Zircon reasoned. If Raspberry wanted to be like that, then she could. So she turned to go.

Then, she saw the light.

It was right in front of her, right in front of Raspberry's hiding tunnel, a flickering yellow pinprick in the hazy distance of the warehouse. At first she thought it was the spotlight that the peridots had oriented for the training ring, but that hadn't been on this side...and this one was growing in size, and rumbling…

 _Oh, no._

So many things happened at once. Cranberry's voice shrieked her name. The rumbling grew to a deafening pitch — the yellow light seemed to draw her in — she realized that it wasn't going to stop — something in her head began to count down. Twenty. Nineteen. Eighteen.

 _Raspberry!_

Cranberry had emerged from behind the billboard, but she was frozen in fear, her mouth twisted in a silent scream. She knew it as clearly as Zircon. If the transport didn't stop — who in blazes was driving it?! — it would rocket down the tunnel, towards Raspberry. Sixteen, fifteen. Crushing her for sure.

But it wasn't stopping. As if possessed, Zircon waved her arms until her shoulders hurt, screaming at the transport to stop, but soon she couldn't even hear her own voice. An ungodly screech filled the air — the brakes of the train, slamming down against the wheels. Sparks flew from both sides.

Thirteen.

But it didn't stop.

Zircon expected — no, WISHED that Raspberry would notice the commotion by now, and perhaps come out on her own, but when she whirled around she saw nothing but the darkness. "Raspberry! RASPBERRY, GET OUT OF THERE!" she cried, scrambling to the mouth of the tunnel. She glanced back at the train. Ten.

"I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE!" Raspberry yelled back. "Now QUIT IT WITH THE NOISE!"

Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no.

"Raspberry, please!" Zircon begged. "Turn around! YOU NEED TO GET OUT!"

"I'M NOT LISTENING! HANDS OVER MY EARS! KISS MY FACET, UPPER CRUST!"

Six. Five. Four.

For a second Zircon saw inside the front window of the transport. Three pairs of wide eyes. Two peridots and a hyacinth zircon.

 _"RASPBERRY, YOU HAVE TO RUN — "_

Three. And no response.

There were ten feet in between Zircon and the transport. Twenty feet in between the transport and Raspberry Quartz, huddled at the back of the tunnel, shut off from the world.

Two.

And it was like something spoke past her ears, directly to the part of her mind that controlled her legs, and she took off — into the tunnel. Her reason screamed in protest. This was suicide — what did she plan to do — was there even a plan at all — why was she running in?

But then she skidded to a stop in the gravel, just in front of Raspberry; just as the quartz lifted her head, her glare slowly morphing into pure horror. Zircon didn't stop to meet her eyes.  
Instead she turned, facing the blinding glow and deafening roar and scalding heat — and raised her palms to meet them.

She had never felt more at peace.

.

One.

.

There were six witnesses: Peridots 5XI and 5XU, Yellow Zircon, Cranberry Tourmaline, Raspberry Quartz, and Blue Zircon.

5XI and 5XU would always — without a doubt — begin their story by saying that they DID have things under control. Initially. Then the accelerator got stuck and the brakes failed and they both began to scream. Not because they would be in danger, oh no; they knew perfectly well that a transport crash wouldn't kill THEM. But a certain large pink someone might upon realizing that they had just crashed the only working transport.

Yellow Zircon passed out a second before the impact happened. 5XI and 5XU, the considerate beings that they were, left her on the floor until ordered to pick her up.

Cranberry Tourmaline saw what she thought was the whole thing. She saw the transport skidding out of control; she realized that Raspberry had never come out of the tunnel. She saw Zircon run in. Her brain shut down a little before then and all she could do was watch as the transport barreled into the tunnel…then, with a flash of light and a sickening, shrieking CRUNCH, stop. Only the tail end stuck out, forcing the clouds of dust to billow around it. And all she could think was "I am the only survivor." It came out of her mouth as a wordless shriek.

Raspberry Quartz, at first, saw nothing.

Then she realized something — that color was pressing in on her eyelids, like someone had turned on a bright light. "This is it," she thought. "This is what being shattered is like. Bright light."

But then she registered her own arms hugging her chest. Her body. Her hand shot up to her forehead and found an untouched gem. Her eyes flew open — and saw Blue Zircon standing above her, hands outstretched as if to push something away.

And surrounding them both was a blue half-dome, humming with electricity and light.

At first, Zircon thought the same thing as Raspberry — that she was shattered or cracked and this was just a refractory period where her brain didn't know how to process the information. Heat coursed through her entire form, sweat poured down her face and back, her fingers and toes tingled with numbness. She was frozen in a lunge.

When she saw the bubble around them, her mouth dropped open. It wasn't bright like the spotlight — rather, warm despite the blue, soothing, dimmer and pulsing with a comforting glow. Just past the glazed, translucent surface, Zircon could just make out the wreckage beyond. The transport that had nearly shattered them.

The bubble was tall enough that it filled the end of the tunnel, stretching up to the cieling. Wide enough to hold her and Raspberry, still on her knees. The quartz was silent.

Slowly, Raspberry reached out and touched the bubble wall, her eyes large and glimmering in the light. Where she touched it, little veins of white rippled across the surface of the bubble, and Zircon shivered. It tickled her hands.

"Did you do this?" Raspberry asked. Her voice was small and hoarse as a ruby's. And Zircon didn't know how to answer.

"I…I didn't know I could…"

She dropped her hands to her side and the bubble vanished, delving them into darkness again. Two lights flickered overhead — the transport's shattered headlamp and the light from inside the crushed cabin, where the faces of 5XI and 5XU gaped down at them. For once, they seemed struck speechless.

A sound tugged at Zircon's attention. "Raspberry? Starlite?" called a voice, high and trembling. Cranberry Tourmaline. Before either of them could respond, she appeared at the top of a pile of wreckage, her dress torn and her face covered in dust.

As soon as she saw them, she ran forward and crushed them both in a hug.

"I — I saw you run in, I didn't know what to do, I saw a flash and I thought you were — were — shattered; I don't understand…"

She began to cry, messy, trembling sobs that dripped onto Zircon's shoulder. The way Cranberry hugged them, part of Zircon was squished between Cranberry's and Raspberry's chests, a fact that she wasn't sure how to think about. Awkwardly, she tried to return the hug...but then her hand brushed against someone else's and she jerked away.

The embrace broke apart. Suddenly, it became very obvious how sweaty Zircon was, and how both Cranberry and Raspberry were staring at her. "I, ah…" she mumbled. She shuffled her feet in the gravel. "I'm just going to. Go."

She couldn't get away fast enough. Like a coward, she turned on her heel and split.

* * *

 **A/N: i don't even know why i keep posting here if nobody except the occasional "plz update and that's the only thing im putting in my review" guy are enjoying it**

 **please fucking review im tired and im this close to not updating here anymore because, despite the fact that i have more views here than on both archiveofourown and amino combined, i got one review last time and it was one of those "plz update"s. like i don't actually care but if nobody likes this fic then im not super jazzed to put in the effort it takes to upload it here**


	22. Chapter 22

Hours later, Zircon stood behind a stack of crates, dripping with sweat.

By now, every refugee in the underground — all eleven, excluding herself — had heard what had happened with the transport. Not necessarily the bit about yelling at Raspberry; thankfully, Cranberry and Raspberry agreed that an anti-quartz slur was nothing to brag about. But the peridots wouldn't stop blabbing about what THEY had seen. Zircon running into the tunnel, in the path of the train. A great force field billowing out from Zircon's hands, saving Raspberry in the nick of time. In less than an hour, the tale blew to titanic proportions. Zircon was whispered of as a hero.

And yet, she had never more wanted to hide forever.

Most of the rebels had returned to the base terminal, finished with combat training for the day. The last six left were Cranberry Tourmaline, Raspberry Quartz, Cherry Ruby, Yellow Zircon, and the peridots. The final three stood with their heads down in various states of shame.

"Just because it was an accident doesn't mean it wasn't stupid," Raspberry scolded them. She was wearing the officer's capelet again. "You get approval before activating large machinery, so you don't shatter anyone. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Raspberry," mumbled the peridots.

"Zircon?"

Yellow Zircon tilted her chin imperiously. "I claim no responsibility for this."

"Oh. Well, how do they say it in fancy court language — I don't give a clod. Don't do it again."

A mighty sigh. "Whatever."

Until then, Zircon had been peering over the edge of a crate, but then Raspberry turned and she ducked back down. "Just get out of here," was all Raspberry said. There came the forlorn crunch of feet on gravel, fading as the three troublemakers left. Then Raspberry snapped, "Don't think you're off the hook."

Initially, Zircon froze in terror, certain that she had been found. Then Cherry Ruby spoke up:

"In m — m — my defense...if I said the — the peridots would fix a six, seventy thousand year old t, t, t, transport, and your gem would be saved by, by a zircon who stopped the transport with — with her bare hands…you wouldn't believe me."

"She has a point, love," said Cranberry.

Raspberry didn't respond, just grunted noncommittally. Zircon heard some steps and then Cranberry said, softer, "Do you want to be alone?"

"I don't know...yes."

"Okay."

There was a soft, quiet noise — a kiss.

"I can look for Starlite. I'm sure she just went back to the terminal," said Cranberry. "Just...be careful."

No response. Cranberry's footsteps receded, then vanished.

For a very, very long time, it was silent. So long that Zircon relaxed, certain that Raspberry had left. Her hands had fallen into her lap, palms up. She wasn't sure why her subconscious had decided to generate her gloves like this, but they left her fingers bare and had a line of extra padding along her palms. There were many things about her new form that she did not yet understand. Her cold, bare fingers twitched.

Inhaling deeply, Zircon fanned her fingers and let go. Before her eyes, a blue-white spark bloomed above her palms, forming a small bubble the size of her fist. It warmed her hands — but it didn't radiate heat so much as it felt like it drew some from her, like an extension of her body.

She knew it wasn't exactly a bubble. She had bubbled things before — unruly defendants, overstressed colleagues, one time even a load of files that she'd been too tired to carry home. But those were simple containment bubbles...this was something else. Something more. A force field of some kind, like a shield; it almost felt like the same substance as her monocle and screens…

Suddenly, there was a loud THUMP very close to her head. When she whirled around, she found herself staring at a very particular behind.

"GAH!"

Raspberry Quartz had unknowingly walked over and sat down on the very crate that Zircon was hiding behind. Maybe if Zircon hadn't yelled, Raspberry would never have noticed. But not so. Gasping, Raspberry leapt to her feet and drew two saxe knives from her forehead gem. An accidental force field popped up around Zircon.

"What the hell?!" Raspberry yelped.

They stared at each other, and it was clear that they KNEW there was no immediate danger, but neither put their weapons down. Raspberry's lips curled back in a snarl. "How long have you been there? You were spying, weren't you?"

"No! No, please, it's not like that!" Zircon sputtered, but she knew it wouldn't work. Her shields were still up — metaphorically AND literally. This time she was so on edge that the force field didn't even drop when she lowered her hands. "I — I was just — I've been there for quite some time, actually, but it wasn't...oh, pebbles."

By the look on Raspberry's face, Zircon could tell that she wasn't having it either. Still scowling, she returned her knives to her forehead and turned to leave.

"Raspberry, wait!"

Raspberry stopped, glaring back over her shoulder. "What?"

Another "I'm sorry" rose to Zircon's lips, and she was about to let it out, but then it suddenly sank. Of course she was sorry. They both knew it and it was getting old. She remembered that sometimes, if she read or focused on one particular word long enough, it started to not look like a word anymore. It lost its weight. I'm sorry — Zircon was sorry, and she gloated about it as if it was a feat, as if Raspberry was supposed to forget everything just because she was sorry.

She thought of 10011's collar again. How heavy it was, dragging Zircon's hands down to the ground; she couldn't help but think of 10011, the chain tethering her silhouette into a painful hunch. She wondered how 10011 would feel if a gem apologized to her. If it was while the chain was still around her neck, and while the other gem wrung her hands in simple pity, never bothering to loosen the bonds. An apology, then, was nothing. A soothe for a sympathetic heartache.

And a new question came softly:

"Are you…okay?"

It hung in the air between them, suspended just outside Zircon's bubble. Raspberry's eyes widened for just a second, flicking to Zircon, then jerking away.

"Of course I am," she muttered. "Who doesn't love almost being hit by a train?"

The acid in her voice was still scalding, but Zircon's shoulders involuntarily relaxed. Sarcasm. She could deal with sarcasm. "Oh. I...suppose that wasn't quite the right question. I'm sorry."

Raspberry turned her back and folded her arms again, but she didn't leave. Didn't respond, either. Slightly less discouraged, Zircon tried to move towards Raspberry despite her force field, but even when leaning her whole weight against it, the bubble refused to budge. Only when she pressed her palms to it did it inch along the ground, but with difficulty. Blast this thing...why wasn't it popping? She had places to go, like out from behind this stack of crates.

An embarrassingly long time later, Zircon had finally shoved her bubble three feet closer to Raspberry, still stoic and sulking. Yet the closed distance still seemed as vacant as ever.

"I...Raspberry," said Zircon, rubbing her arm, "I just — I know you're not okay. But I realized I was wrong and that I hurt you."

No response. A single sweat drop rolled down Zircon's jaw.

"If there's anything you want to tell me, anything at all, I want to know. If there's anything you want me to do...I want to do it. I regret my words because I only now realized how much they hurt you. I know it sounds shallow, but I'm sorry. I want to help you. I want to understand."

When she finished, her hands were shaking. She was no stranger to saying things that were uncomfortable for everyone, but this was different. Raspberry had turned to stare at her and Zircon couldn't meet her eyes.

"Anything, huh?"

It sounded like a challenge. Zircon gulped. Languidly, Raspberry stepped forward, her blurry face becoming clearer as she drew closer to the force field. It looked as if she was trying to keep her expression indifferent, but was just on the verge of punching something too.

"Here's something," said Raspberry. "I was an hour old when I was ripped off my home planet to fight a battle. I didn't even know my own name. Two standard rotations later, half of my batch was shattered."

She leaned against the bubble, supporting herself with one hand. Something hot pressed into Zircon's core, something cold against her back — the back wall of the bubble. Raspberry was trembling and somehow Zircon could feel it.

"I watched them be ground to dust," she said.

The words echoed in the halls.

"One of them had her gem at her collar, just like yours. When I found her, a chisel had sliced her throat right down the middle and lodged in her gem...she...she grabbed at my face, and she couldn't speak, but I KNEW she was begging for help."

Raspberry's own voice faltered. A shiver ran underneath Zircon's gem, and she couldn't tear her mind from the chisel. "What...happened?"

"I took her to our agate," said Raspberry, "and I asked for help. So she ordered me to pull the chisel out. When I did, the gem broke apart in my hands. And our agate LAUGHED."

Her hands, pressed against the bubble wall, clenched into fists. Nausea bubbled in Zircon's gut. "Wh…"

"She said we deserved it — because we were defective, we were dirty and impure, we didn't fight hard enough — WE shattered our own lost gems!"

Suddenly, the shield burst, startling both of them. Raspberry dropped to her hands and knees. Her entire form trembled.

"That's what granite means," she hissed. "THAT'S what I have to think of. That we're nothing but useless, mindless QUARTZES."

The last word was spat like a curse. And Zircon was struck speechless, left only to stare. She hadn't known. She wouldn't have even dreamt of it. There WERE cases — occasionally, a soldier would emerge with a lawsuit against her own agate, a protest of abuse or a selfish order, but Zircon had always been told these were isolated incidences. And the soldier never won.

Zircon opened her mouth, then closed it, and finally summoned something. "Thank you for telling me," she whispered. "I wish I knew how to fix this."

"You can't." Her voice was tight.

"Have you told Cranberry?"

No response. Zircon couldn't tell if it was because the answer was no, or because of something beyond that. She reasoned that, because the two fused on occasion, Cranberry might have found out anyway. But still Raspberry said nothing, just sat and hugged herself and stared at the ground like a lost gemling. Despite her size, she seemed so small, weak, vulnerable. And Zircon's shield was gone.

Finally, Raspberry let out a bitter, barking laugh.

"I can't even believe myself," she said. "Whining to a zircon out of self pity. Isn't it pathetic — "

She never finished. On impulse, Zircon stepped forward and hugged her. Half of Zircon expected to be grabbed and flung across the warehouse like any number of the things Raspberry had been throwing lately...but even as Raspberry tensed up, Zircon could feel it all spilling out again. Raspberry's shoulders heaved and she began to cry. Not nice crying, either. Big, breathless, gasping cries that had all the pain of being held in for millennia. When Raspberry hugged Zircon back, it was hard enough to knock Zircon off her feet, but strong enough to hold her steady again. It was warm in Raspberry's arms. She smelled sweet, but of something Zircon didn't recognize. Her hair was softer than anything Zircon had ever felt before.

"It's okay. It's gonna be okay, I promise you," Zircon found herself murmuring. It was familiar. How many times had she been assigned to an inconsolable client? "It's healthy to cry. It's gonna be okay."

"Thank you for saving me," Raspberry whispered suddenly. It took Zircon aback, but Raspberry never moved, so she just nodded. She had begun stroking Raspberry's hair.

"It was nothing. Don't worry about it."

When Raspberry pulled back, she sniffled and wiped her eyes with the corner of her capelet. "I don't know if I've ever cried about that."

"Do you feel any better?"

She gave a tight, humorless smile. "Are you going to get all desperate again if I say no?"

"Desperate? I wasn't — " Zircon stopped herself, thought, and then changed her course. "Alright, I MAY have come off as desperate. But it's really not healthy to bottle up emotions. I'm glad you could cry about it. Er — oh stars, that just sounds mean…"

She nervously met Raspberry's gaze, but then realized that her smile had softened. "You sound like Cranberry," Raspberry said.

"I...do?"

"You're both very intense about this sort of stuff. Emotions and all that."

Zircon didn't exactly know what to think about that. It would mark the second time in the past few rotations that someone had called her some variant of "emotional", despite the fact that she still sometimes thought of herself as a clever, logical voice of reason. "Thank you…?"

Raspberry chuckled, even though Zircon hadn't meant for it to be funny. Maybe she should try keeping her voice cracks under control. Then Raspberry stood, brushed off her pants, and turned to leave, but seemed to realize something. She stopped and glanced back at Zircon.

"Hey, um," she began, rubbing the back of her neck, "I don't have anywhere important to be. If you want to pick up training again, I can stay now."

The offer took Zircon off guard. But she knew she did need it, and on top of it all, she had a new skill that she had no idea how to use. It was a blow to her pride to admit it even to herself, but…Raspberry knew much more than Zircon did. Steeling herself, Zircon nodded humbly and looked at her feet. "I would like that. Yes."

"Alright. Let me go back to the terminal and see if I can find a practice sword — "

"I — I don't want want to train with a sword."

Raspberry raised an eyebrow. Zircon couldn't believe she was admitting it herself. "You're saying," Raspberry spelled it out slowly, "that you made all that ruckus over having a sword and being treated like Aqua Pearl...and now you don't even want a sword anymore?"

Zircon inhaled deeply, trying to compose herself. Here came more ego-blows. "I only wanted a sword because I wanted respect."

Raspberry's other eyebrow went up. "You think a sword would get you respect?"

"Not just that. I was...trying to be something I wasn't. Oh, how do I say this — "

Schist. Muddy, ruddy, cloddy schist.

"The sword is an attacking weapon. My pole was — is," she amended. At Raspberry's quizzical frown, Zircon reached into her gem and pulled out her last resort — a long, light pole about as tall as she was. The same one that Raspberry had given her to train with.

"This thing is a defending weapon. NOBODY respects the defense. Trust me on that. And everyone down here is so strong and rebellious and — and everyone seems to always be moving forward, all the time. Taking the offensive. I wanted to be like that. But I'm not. My gem weapon is a giant, bubbly SHIELD, for stars' sakes. So — what I'm trying to say, in this very stilted and inefficient way, is that, well, again, I'm sorry. And I want to keep training, but as defense. If, that is, if you even do that."

Meekly, she peeked up past her headscarf to gauge Raspberry's expression. But the quartz had been waiting for that, because she immediately met Zircon's eyes. "Oh, that made no sense," Zircon scolded herself. "You literally just broke every technicality of negotiation and compromise; what would your facet manager think of you now — forget that, what does RASPBERRY think of you now — "

"Okay," said Raspberry.

Zircon's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"Said 'okay'," Raspberry shrugged, stepping back. "We always need a line of defense, and maybe we can even figure out those bubbles of yours. Hope you don't mind being called the last resort, though."

A smile twitched at Zircon's lips. "That's what the prosecutors used to call me."

"Good! So you're used to it," Raspberry grinned. She turned to a large metal box and pulled a lever, flooding the area in light once again. Just like before, Raspberry returned to her place at the head of the training ring and folded her arms.

"But just for the record," she called, "I didn't pick out that pole for you. You remember when me and my girls arrested you? And you looked like you'd just crawled out of a rock tumbler?"

When she had been hiding in the Underworld, just after escaping the Harvester and interrogating Yellow Zircon. The memory came back as Raspberry continued.

"You tried to hit me with that thing; I'm guessing you just picked it up somewhere. I thought it was trash, but Cranberry told me to keep it; she's kinda a hoarder sometimes. So I kept it in my head until today. You're welcome."

She folded her arms moodily, like she was trying to be grumpy, but didn't quite make it all the way. Zircon couldn't help but smile. "Thanks."

"Just — forget it. We don't have all rotation," Raspberry blustered, her cheeks darkening. "Prepare for Sequence 1. Ready!"

Zircon snapped into position. Wide stance, hands balanced on the pole, eyes forward. She didn't expect herself to be magically better at the sequences. But she looked at Raspberry and somewhere, deep in her gem, she felt calm.

"I'm ready," she said.

* * *

 **A/N: thank you to all the support i got from the last chapter. im sorry if i couldnt respond to your review, but i really appreciated the feedback.**

 **i do want to clarify, though: i didnt mean that i would stop writing the story if i didnt get reviews. i would keep writing it even if i was the last person on earth. however, it is very hard for me to update on this site because my computer is dead and this site does not have a functional mobile version or app. in order to post a chapter, i have to go to the public library and check out a computer, something which i can only do about twice a month.**

 **based on the feedback, i will TRY to update whenever i go to the library. however, if you want updates as soon as i am done writing, please follow my ao3 account, f0rt1ss1m0.**


	23. Chapter 23

**im posting from my fucking phone guys this is weied and glitchy**

* * *

For the first time in what felt like forever, things were going okay.

After making up, Zircon and Raspberry Quartz trained for several hours before resting. Zircon managed to master the first few basic sequences, only hitting herself on the head twice. The third time she almost hit herself, a bubble popped into existence around her head and stayed there for a good half hour — cueing, of course, Raspberry laughing at her for the whole half hour.

It was as if, after accidentally uncovering the gift once, it spun out of control and began appearing everywhere. The only upside to spontaneous bubble-creation was that it gave Zircon more opportunities to learn how to control it. By the end of the training period, she could almost reliably dismiss the bubbles by smacking them really hard with her palm. The downside, among others, was that Raspberry started calling her "Bubblehead". Zircon told her that she was bad at nicknames. Raspberry didn't care.

As soon as Zircon returned to the terminal, Yellow intercepted her and used her shoulder as an armrest.

"So, force fields, huh?" she asked.

Zircon gave her a look. Yellow cringed and stepped back, clearly understanding its meaning.

"Sorry for almost running you over with a transport?" Yellow tried.

Oh well. Zircon sighed and, weary from her training, slumped to the ground against a wall. "Better. Though I don't want to ask why you were involved."

Gingerly, Yellow sat next to her. "In my defense, it was fun before the brakes failed. And before we realized you and the quartz were in that tunnel. What were you two doing, anyway?"

"That's private."

Probably not the wisest answer. Yellow raised a quizzical eyebrow.  
"Yellow, no."

The raised eyebrow pulled into a grin.

"YELLOW."

The grin spread wider, and Yellow leaned against Zircon's shoulder again, making some very suggestive noises that didn't warrant description. Zircon's cheeks began to heat up. They were still nearby gems — Aqua Pearl had paused her argument with Bismuth to glance over, and 5XU was staring as she ran a brush through her hair. And Raspberry Quartz had her back to the Zircons, but she was in earshot. Yellow didn't seem to care. "How long has this been going on, hmm? You knew her before, right? Oooohhh...does Cranberry know?"

At that, Raspberry turned around, if only for a second. The curious look might as well have punched Zircon in the stomach. "S — shut UP!" she squealed, elbowing Yellow hard in the side. Yellow just laughed.

"You two are so weird," called Raspberry before walking away. The resulting glare Yellow got from Zircon could have cracked a gem.

"That's not what's going on, Yellow."

The suggestive smirk never left. "I know. I just like giving you a hard time with everything."

As if that wasn't obvious. But Zircon let her stay, and even allowed her to lay her head on Zircon's shoulder until she abruptly sat up.

"Look at the time; I completely forgot. I promised Heliodor I would help her with a legal question; I hope my Libra account hasn't been terminated yet…"

A realization occured to Zircon. "Yellow," she exclaimed, "you're making friends!"

"What? No I'm not!" Yellow blustered, scrambling to her feet. "Zircons don't have friends, and you know it!"

But as she stormed off, she passed through the light and gave Zircon a full view of her jacket. There was a pattern on the back that hadn't been before — a half star draping down from her collar, just like the one on the back of Zircon's vest. When reforming, Zircon hadn't even thought to create the design, but Yellow had clearly been inspired by SOMEBODY. Didn't have friends...psh.

That was life in the terminals. Largely rest, lasting a few hours at a time, where Zircon would talk with Yellow or Black Cherry Ruby. And later, as days passed, with Heliodor, with Aqua Pearl, with Bismuth and the second ruby who always hung off her arm (and later with their fusion, Tiger's Eye), even with the shady hematite and the two vicious little peridots. During that time, Cranberry and Raspberry usually disappeared. Once, they brought back a tiny, terrified calcite, who never spoke, just sat in corners and stared at everyone.

But for the most part, when they returned, Raspberry would lead the rebels to the warehouse and begin combat training again. They would train until they were sweating and collapsing on the floor, and then they would return to the terminal and rest again. It was a schedule — something Zircon could fall into. A rhythm.

And as the rhythm continued, it became easier to play along. The other rebels were no longer strangers. With the addition of Calcite, the zircons were no longer newbies. Even the peridots stopped wanting to shatter Zircon, though sometimes one would make a very morbid joke that made Zircon on edge again.

Heliodor, a four-foot-tall fairy with a bulbous gold gown and a pile of glittering hair, was kind of like Yellow Zircon. Another loyal yellow upper crust dragged into rebellion by external factors. Two thousand years ago, one of her quartz guards dropped a heavy crate on her foot and chipped a corner off her gem. Enraged, she ordered the quartz to be taken away and repurposed, told everyone that she was fine, and continued on with her duties. Then she forgot what happened to her gem. She forgot dates. She forgot appointments. She forgot her own servants. Very soon, her memory was so spotty that she was forced to write her entire life on screens in order to escape notice that something was wrong. But inevitably, someone did notice, and she was sentenced to a merciful shattering. Then she was here. She had forgotten to write down how she had gotten here.

Bismuth and her ruby were pretty closed off about their personal lives. The only thing that Zircon knew about them was that they were obsessed with each other, and that it was impossible to stop Tiger's Eye from forming, despite the fact that she was twenty feet tall and the ceiling of the terminal base was twelve. Tiger's Eye, then, would just lay on her stomach.

Calcite never said much, or anything, for that matter; only Cherry Ruby claimed to have heard her speak before. When standing, she only came up to Zircon's knee. Not that she came up to Zircon at all, though. Cranberry mentioned that they had picked her up from a street corner in the upper Underworld, and that she had a problem with keeping a steady form. In her brief meetings with Calcite, Zircon tried to keep an eye out for that, and suspected to had caught it once. When Calcite moved suddenly, she glitched, leaving little particles of light behind. Sometimes her gem was over her left ear. Sometimes it was over her right. One time, it was on the back of her neck. It explained why Raspberry never pushed her to train with the others, and why the only thing she did was sit and stare.

Hematite was mysterious. Tall, dark, thin, brooding, with a ridiculous hat and a skintight black suit. Edgy. Which...was kind of the point of hematites to begin with, but still. After a while, Zircon realized that they had actually met before — Hematite was the court-appointed bounty hunter Zircon had defended in her second most famous case, Hematite vs. the Court of Blue Diamond. Hematite had shattered one target without permission, but only out of self-defense. She was found innocent that time.

"So why are you here now?" Zircon had asked out of morbid curiosity. Maybe a mistake.

"Shattered someone else," Hematite just shrugged.

"In self-defense?"

"No," she said matter-of-factly. "Selfishly. She cut in line at a warp pad."

Zircon's mouth fell open. "So you shattered her?"

"We had history before that," said Hematite, as if that excused anything.

Even still, she wasn't the weirdest of the rebels. That honor fell to Aqua Pearl. While Hematite was just callous without a cause, ignorant of sociopolitical forces, Aqua Pearl was vengeful. Zircon could never really understand her story. From what scraps she could get, she understood that Pearl had been horrifically abused by her owner, leading her to poof her owner and flee to the Underworld.

But whoever her owner had been, she must have been prestigious — Aqua Pearl knew more about the inner workings of Homeworld than Zircon herself. Almost every day, Zircon found herself listening to Aqua Pearl preach, ranting for hours about corruption, scandals, propaganda, and systematic oppression until Pearl's training kicked in and clapped her hand over her mouth. But she was getting better at circumventing the gag. She would avoid names and dates. She would use code words for things she couldn't describe. Once, she had Hematite pin her hands behind her back, yelling over the urge to bite off her own tongue. Whenever Zircon met her eyes, she saw a starving fire, unhinged, greedy for chaos, whispering of the day she would see the Diamonds on their knees.

Zircon wondered who would tell her that they WEREN'T planning a full scale revolt against the oligarchy.

There was one person who Zircon wondered about, but hardly saw at all. Strawberry Quartz, the elusive fusion of Cranberry and Raspberry. According to the older rebels, Strawberry was normally a frequent face around the underground, especially in the warehouse during training. Some of them wondered if the two had gotten in a fight. But Zircon sometimes stumbled upon Raspberry and Cranberry when they thought they were alone, cuddling or speaking quietly with their hands intertwined. So they weren't fighting. That wasn't it.

Then, about twenty days after that first training, Zircon left the transport station for fresh air. And later, part of her would wonder if it was worth it.


	24. Chapter 24

The "fresh" part of fresh air was subjective. Considering that the rebels lived several miles below the upper crust of Homeworld, far beyond the reach of air purifiers, the air here was forever hazy and pungent, reeking of sulfur, rust, and old oil. On top of that, getting permission to leave the transport station shelter was strict — consult with Cherry to see if leaving would bring any death, pick up a lead cloak just in case of robonoids, promise not to stray more than two kilometers from the station entrance, and let everyone know that you were leaving so that you wouldn't be sliced and diced by an alarmed Aqua Pearl when you returned. Most gems didn't see the freedom as being worth it. But Zircon just liked taking walks.

Today, she had barely strayed a few steps from the entrance of the transport station and into the dark streets outside when a sound made her scramble for shelter again.

The sound was a shout. By now, Zircon was crouched behind a crumbling pillar, her pole in one hand and the wisps of a force field sparking in her other hand. Right. She had trained for this. If she could survive in a sparring match with Raspberry Quartz, whatever was out there was nothing. Somewhere down the vacant streets, amidst the thick, everpresent smoke, there were sounds like a scuffle. Grunts, scrapes against stone, the clash of metal. Her gem cold, Zircon stared in dread.

Then Strawberry Quartz burst out of the fog, a robonoid hot on her heels.

Before Zircon could cry out in surprise, Strawberry twisted in the air like no fifteen-foot-tall fusion should be able to do, then skidded to a stop on the cobblestones. The robonoid screeched after her. Its red lights focused in like a laser point on Strawberry's navel and on the exposed rectangular gem there, Cranberry Tourmaline's. But as soon as it did, Strawberry moved again — springing into the air, whirling in a circle, and landing a devastating roundhouse kick to the body of the robonoid.

The thing flew up and crashed to the ground again, where Strawberry stomped on it. Then she straightened up, ran her hand through her curly hair, and fixed the lead scarf around her torso to cover Cranberry's gem again.

"Whoa," Zircon whispered.

Startled, Strawberry jumped. "Oh — Starlite!" she gasped. "You're...um...hi!"

Her face was a darker shade of pink than Zircon remembered her to be. Awkwardly, Zircon rose up from behind the pillar and waved. "Hi, Strawberry."

"H, hi!" said Strawberry again, her eyes darting from side to side. One pair of hands went behind her back; the other two fluttered around her face to brush off dirt and ash. "What are you doing out here? You look really cute! AH — I mean — you look well!"

"Thank you…?" said Zircon. Stars, she was confused. "So do you. I haven't seen you in a while."

Strawberry's freckled cheeks just reddened even more, "I, um, yeah! You too! Er — that is — I have to go. More gems to smash, and robonoids to save, haha, you know, that's what a fusion's for! W, WAIT, I mean, robonoids to smash, and gems to save — you know what I meant — I just, oh, got my words jumbled up again I suppose, hehe, um...uh...BYE!"

And just like that, Strawberry jumped into the air and disappeared into the smoke, as if she would rather do anything except talk with Zircon.

"That was strange," she said, which was something of an understatement.

She tried to enjoy her walk and the peace and quiet, but she couldn't stop wondering about Strawberry. Maybe there WAS something wrong between Raspberry and Cranberry. Maybe it was Zircon's fault. Could it be? What had she done? She didn't know. Slightly more discouraged than she had been when she'd left, ZIrcon returned to the terminal.

Then she knocked on the door, received no response, and remembered why she had left in the first place.

Through the door and the wall, there were the distinct sounds of a fight. They were muffled, but one voice was clearly Aqua Pearl's, another sounded like either Bismuth or Tiger's Eye, yet another voice was Yellow Zircon's. The only discernible one was Pearl's high pitch, screaming, "You don't understand at all! Just listen to me!" and some more things drowned out by a cacophony of bickering.

Curious, Zircon leaned against the crack in the door to hear better — until it opened and she fell forward. Aqua Pearl stormed past her, yelling over her shoulder, "If no one will serve justice, then I WILL!"

Justice. Zircon could handle that. "Oh — Aqua!" she called, trotting after the furious pearl.

"What?" Aqua Pearl snapped. The door slammed shut behind her and made Zircon jump, but Aqua's brisk pace never faltered. Zircon inhaled to compose herself.

"Well, as you know," she went on, "I left for peace and quiet, but I think I'm better now, and I heard that you're interested in serving something justice?"

"Someone," Aqua corrected. "HER."

That explained it. Aqua often spoke, with the hottest vitriol, of a certain "her" or "she" — her former owner. But from what Zircon understood, Pearl was trying to forget her, not bring her to justice. "But I thought you didn't care about her anymore…?"

"How can I FORGET about her?" Pearl let out a bitter, barking laugh, trembling with rage. "She took EVERYTHING from me, Zircon — and the only way I can FORGET is by taking everything from her."

Oh. Oh, no, that never spelt good news. "I understand the sentiment," said Zircon haltingly, "but don't you suppose there's more productive solutions? More practical ones? Since, well, I wouldn't think a revenge mission is exactly a healthy coping method, not to mention outside of our current budget — "

Abruptly, Pearl stopped and reached to the gem set in the small of her back, pulling out a newly-sharpened sword. Zircon jumped back. "Guess what? I don't care!" Pearl laughed again. "Because I'm not your problem anymore. I'm doing this on my own, and nobody can stop me."

She looked up. They were standing in what used to be the central foyer of the station, far under the rusting skeleton of a domed skylight. The room was tall enough to hold a Diamond, and Pearl glared up into the rafters as if one was there right now, Then she crouched and leapt into the air, soaring on unseen wings through the dome. And she was gone.

"What is it today," Zircon mumbled, "with gems not wanting to talk to me?"

When she returned to the terminal, there were no sounds of conflicts within and the door was opened for her. The inside was a mess, as usual. Tiger's Eye was hunched in the pit and playing dice with some of the others. (She had to hunch to fit her four legs and impressive stature, but seemed happy to be fused.) Even Calcite was watching from where she perched on a ladder. Only Yellow Zircon was alone, as physically far away from Tiger's Eye as possible. She had two monocle screens open.

"You're still not accustomed to living with permafusions, are you?" asked Zircon, leaning against a pillar near Yellow. Yellow gave her a look.

"Well, it's easy for YOU. You liked permafusion cases; you used to work with them all the time."

"I DIDN'T like them, since I almost exclusively lost. I just...was extra happy when I did win."

Yellow sighed. "Still."

Zircon raised an eyebrow. "Still what?"

"Still — it just makes me very uncomfortable."

"Says the gem who thinks I'm tumbling rocks with Cranberry and Raspberry."

"That's different," said Yellow, as if really did have reasons. "It's...not as...serious. I can't explain it. I don't know if you ever had to get past this stage, but I feel as if I'm still trying to filter what I know from what is right."

"I did," said Zircon solemnly.

"But you're much further along. And I'm only at 'The Diamonds are maybe not perfect'. Extending that principle — to, to fusion, and to all the other things that the Diamonds said are wrong, well, that's very difficult. And living with permafusions is very distracting. But I can't tell them to unfuse or they'll kick my facet."

"I'd probably kick it too," Zircon commented. "They're not bad gems, Yellow."

"I know." Another sigh. Resolutely, Yellow opened up a new screen, one with her own picture on it.

"What's that?"

"Hm? Oh. Just checking my Libra again. I'm still listed as missing."

"How does my criminal account look?"

"Not sure."

Humming under her breath, Yellow opened another screen and Blue Zircon's picture popped up — one seemingly taken by a security robonoid at some point, an unflattering portrait of her screaming in terror. Even though Zircon's official court account had been deleted, her new status as a felon opened a new file for her, listing all of her criminal activity so far. High treason against the Diamonds. Destroying a Harvester. Spying on Yellow Diamond. And most recently, "kidnapping" Yellow Zircon.

"Oh," Yellow commented, "Orange Zircon 8KF added a new conspiracy theory to your discussion board. Apparently, there's a rumor that YOU shattered Pink Diamond."

"I wasn't even made yet," said Zircon indignantly. "Lemme see that."

She leaned over Yellow's shoulder and grabbed the screen. Sure enough, Orange had done it. Her reasoning? Zircon had used a color modifier to disguise herself as a yellow zircon, so she could have had the modifier prior and was secretly Pink Diamond's court zircon disguised as a starlite blue.

"Isn't it ridiculous?" Yellow chuckled. "Classic Orange."

"She's so stupid."

"You should see Rose Zircon's."

"SHE made one?"

"It's just as raunchy as you would expect. She thinks this was all an elaborate scheme so that we could elope — "

"Oh, I don't want to hear this."

" — and live together as a very sexy permafusion on some abandoned moon of Upsilon 9. That was verbatim, Blue."

"What a weirdo," Zircon murmured.

"Agreed." A message pinged on Yellow's screen. "New topic posted," Yellow read aloud. "'New evidence that Starlite Zircon is in league with Crystal Gems; treason and kidnapping part of a scheme to cause civil war'..."

Zircon groaned. "I'm getting tired of these."

"No, no, wait. This was posted Matura White. THE Matura White. Listen."

"No — what?!"

 _" 'I am currently in recess from a mediation session between Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond, regarding their disagreements on the fate of Starlite Zircon 1-7EA. I have spoken on behalf of the illustrious White Diamond, the First Mother, the Most Honorable. However, my substitution is proving futile. Yellow Diamond refuses to compromise with Blue Diamond and, in the heat of the moment, declared war on the court of Blue Diamond.' "_

"That's. Not good," murmured Zircon. Yellow nodded in agreement before proceeding.

 _" 'With the order of my Diamond, I was able to veto the command and call for recess. However, I am afraid the ill sentiment is still strong. Our Diamonds are divided. It is clear that the damage that Starlite Zircon has done to Homeworld spans far beyond the destruction of a simple Harvester; it is because of this traitor that we are on the brink of civil war.' "_

"Oh," said Zircon."

"Oh indeed," Yellow agreed. She continued:

 _" 'New circumstantial evidence suggests that Starlite is in direct communication with her client, Rose Quartz. Two rotations prior to Starlite's trial and initial mediation, Peridots 2F5L-5XI and 2F5L-5XU escaped from shatter row. 5XI and 5XU were found guilty of helping Starlite escape and destroy the former Facet 1 Harvester, so it is quite likely that they rendezvoused with Starlite after her escape._

 _" 'However, that is not all. Prior to its destruction, 5XI and 5XU were assigned to the Harvester due to a suspected defect in the 5X cut. Earlier this revolution, Peridot 2F5L-5XG was sent to Crystal System Earth, and, once there, contacted Yellow Diamond only to forsake her mission and denounce the name of Yellow Diamond. 5XG has been confirmed to be in league with Rose Quartz and her surviving Crystal Gems. It is a suspicious coincidence that three peridots of the same cut, one of whom is a confirmed Crystal Gem, have all been convicted of high treason within the same revolution. And it is of further suspicion that two have connections to Rose Quartz's treasonous zircon._

 _" 'In an attempt to diffuse the conflict between Yellow and Blue Diamond, I worked with Supreme General Honey Agate and Supreme General Aqua Aura Quartz to present this hypothesis for investigation. Results are pending. The information presented here is not officially released and is not approved for redistribution. I will provide an update after the closing of the mediation. Signed, Matura White Zircon, Facet 1A1A, cut 1AB.' "_

Both zircons fell silent.

"She's pretty close," Yellow said grimly.

Zircon bit her bottom lip. It was getting harder to ignore the fact that, with every day she stayed on Homeworld, the more the danger grew for her. Now, it wasn't just about insulting the Diamonds; even her own coworkers were convinced that she was trying to rip Homeworld apart. "I need to leave Homeworld now," she whispered. "There's nothing I can do anymore."

"Tell that to the tourmaline," said Yellow. "I don't know what she's waiting for. We've been hunkered down here long enough."

"She was waiting for this."

Both zircons looked up. 5XU stood in front of them, her screens open to a blinking message. A transmissions request.

"It took a while," said 5XU, "but we've reestablished contact with Lars and his crew. They know a way to get us off Homeworld."


	25. Chapter 25

A way off Homeworld.

The words stuck in Blue Zircon's head like a song she'd heard a hundred times, but she didn't want them to leave. Silently, she and Yellow Zircon followed 5XU out of the terminal, down the corridors of the station until they reached a rusted ladder at the end of a hall. The ladder took them up, and up, and up into a ceaseless tunnel until Zircon's arms were burning and she was pretty sure that they had long since left the transport station, perhaps even in a different level of the Underworld.

"Where does this ladder even go?" Yellow was the first to ask.

"Up," said 5XU. Zircon glanced down at Yellow just in time to see her roll her eyes.

"What a fool am I," mumbled Yellow. "Didn't even guess."

After a long time, 5XU finally climbed up over a ledge and helped the zircons as well. The place seemed to be some sort of hodgepodge communications center, cobbled together from several different time periods. Ancient, bulky LED screens lined the walls, all of them off. Levers, antennae, and scanners cluttered the desks. In the center of the circular, low-cielinged space was a holoprojector and panel from back when Zircon had just been made. The bottom of 5XI — Zircon assumed it was 5XI — hung out of a large barrel.

"U, I can't find the spare comm line," 5XI complained, her voice echoing in the barrel. "Did you take it? And if you did, may I respectfully ask who in Homeworld you're gonna call with a bounty on your head?"

"Don't have it," said 5XU. "I do have the zircons."

5XI stood up out of the barrel, her hair a little messier than usual. "You don't say?" she grinned to the newcomers. "Where's Berry Team?"

"On their way."

"Good enough. Get over here and help me patch this signal through. Zircons, don't touch anything."

"Or you'll do what?" Yellow tested.

"Push you down the ladder," said 5XU without a beat. Yellow shrugged.

"That's fair."

A minute of button-pressing later, a screen blew up above the holoprojector, filling much of the room and fizzing with static. There was more button-pressing. Some swears on the part of the peridots. Then two red faces appeared on the screen and came into focus — two rutiles, seemingly sitting in the same pilot's chair.

"This is Rutile," said the left one.

"And this is Rutile," said the right, "answering from the repurposed Sun Incinerator!"

"What can we do for you today?" finished the left.

"Yeah, we're looking for the space pirate Lars," said 5XI.

"We have a Lars," said Right Rutile.

"We definitely do," said Left. "So who are you?"

"Well, I am Peridot, Facet 2F5L, Cut 5XI, and this is my coworker, 5XU. The two clods in the back are just some random zircons. We're here on behalf of Cranberry Tourmaline."

"Oh, yes!" said Left. "We were waiting for you."

"Lars is busy right now," put in Right. "Dueling with Emerald in the storage unit."

Left nodded. "We're waiting for the signal that she's out before jumping to hyperspace."

Suddenly, a great explosion shook their end of the transmission, sending them both toppling over. "What the — " 5XI started.

"Are you guys okay?!" cried 5XU.

After a second, the two rutiles stood in the field of the camera...except… no. There was just one. Despite herself, Zircon let out an audible gasp. The rutiles' body was conjoined from the ribcage down, splitting off just above her Y-shaped navel gem. Conjoined twins...of course. Cherry Ruby had mentioned them before. Looking at them now, Zircon was struck by their courage; most gems with such a defect wouldn't even dare show their faces, and yet, here Rutile was, proudly answering on behalf of a space pirate. No wonder the Underworld rebels held Lars' Off-Colors in such high esteem.

Not everyone, however, shared in the admiration.

"Ew, that's disgusting!" 5XI burst.

"What...IS that?!" yelped Yellow Zircon.

Both sides of Rutile looked between 5XI and Yellow, eyes wide. Hastily, Blue Zircon chimed in, "NOBODY SAID ANYTHING! How are you today?"

Before either could respond, a ball of orange fluff wandered in right behind them. "Everyone! I have just forseen wonderful news! Four ambassadors of Cranberry Tourmaline will contact us!" the little orange gem cried. A larger, four-armed fuschia gem came up behind her and picked her up.

"You are REALLY behind today," said the fuschia fusion.

"Hold on tight! One of Emerald's missiles will hit our shields!"

"We know, Padparadscha."

Padparadscha. The same little one that had been with Lars when he broke into Cranberry's facility...and just missed Zircon. For some reason, the sapphire's voice filled Zircon with an unspeakable joy. She was almost safe. She was talking with off-colors, rebels like her, who made it off Homeworld in one piece. She was so close; she could almost see the unknown of space stretching before her now…

Behind Rutile, somewhere in the bridge, a new voice called out. "Emerald...has been...jettisoned...into space," said the voice slowly, as simple as if commenting on how nice the day was. Both rutiles grinned.

"Yes, Fluorite!" said Left Rutile, and Right finished, "Lars did it! Preparing to jump to hyperspace!"

"Where are you going?" asked 5XU.

Both rutiles shrugged, one after the other. "Anywhere else but here," said Right.

"Probably dead space," suggested Left.

"Yes, I like that," nodded Right, and they reached forward to pull a lever.

"Now we just gotta wait for the three slumps who called for this transmission in the first place," 5XI grumbled.

As if on cue, there was a great CRASH, then a very loud "SCHIST!" and another crash. Alarmed, both zircons and peridots rushed to the ladder chute and looked down. Far below, just pink specks on the ground, were Raspberry Quartz and Cranberry Tourmaline.

"HEY! ARE YOU GUYS OKAY?!" yelled 5XI.

"NO," yelled Raspberry back, faint and echoing.

"We're fine!" replied Cranberry tensely. "I apologize on behalf of Raspberry's fat mass for breaking your ladder!"

"Stars sakes," 5XU murmured. Muttering under their breaths, she and 5XI lifted their limb enhancers above their heads, activated their helicopter fingers, and descended down the ladder chute. While they helped Cranberry and Raspberry, Cherry Ruby calmly levitated up into the communications hub and landed gracefully next to Zircon.

"I t — tried to tell them," said Ruby mildly.

On the projected screen, Rutile gasped. "It's Cherry!" said Left.

"Hello, Cherry!" smiled Right.

As if someone had poked her with the business end of a destabilizer, Ruby leapt two feet into the air and yelped. "AH! Rutile! I — ah — d, d, don't look at me!"

Then she scrambled behind Zircon and hugged her leg. The rutiles exchanged confused glances, then shrugged.

"You're...WELCOME," came the voice of 5XI, as she hauled a scowling Raspberry Quartz out of the ladder chute and onto the floor beside the zircons. 5XU followed with Cranberry, who landed on her feet and dusted off her dress. A smile lit Cranberry's face when she saw the screen.

"Rutile," she said. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Good to see you too, Officer," nodded Right.

"Always a pleasure," added Left. "The captain will be here soon!"

They looked down and began pressing things on an unseen dashboard, and the screen faded out into static for a second. Then Zircon and the others were looking upon the bridge of a bright green ship. Rutile sat in the pilot's (pilots'?) seat; Padparadscha to the left of them, and the magenta fusion to the right. An elevated captain's seat occupied the center of the bridge, currently unoccupied.

A second later, the bridge doors opened and a pale pink figure strode out, swathed in black and rich maroon. Zircon's hand floated up to her mouth. When she imagined meeting Lars again, she had set it at the same level of awkward as their first encounter, that being somewhere unexpected, with him dressed in rags and her bewildered beyond speech. Now it was just the second one — Lars, it seemed, was doing very well. He wore a high captain's cape and uniform, made of real fabric by the looks of it, with delicate gold embroidery and a polished, shining belt buckle. He walked with authority and reclined in the captain's seat with pride, as if he had been made to lead. If Zircon didn't know better, she would have assumed he was a rare officer, perhaps even a consultant to a Diamond. Not a mere human.

Echoing Blue Zircon's thoughts, Yellow Zircon's jaw had fallen open. "That's...not…"

The pink captain looked up, his eyes going straight to the zircons. "Sure is," he smirked. "Captain Lars of the Stars, at your service. How's it going, Cranberry? And Raspberry Quartz. Don't you look as sweet as ever."

Raspberry's cheeks darkened. "I could crush you," she said, but she was smiling.

"Lars, we need your help as possible," said Cranberry. "Ever since we started sheltering Blue Zircon, we've had more close calls than ever. Strawberry Quartz has done the best she could in deflecting attention, but Cherry says discovery is inevitable. And very soon."

A shadow of doubt crossed Lars' face. "How soon is soon?"

"Best case scenario?" asked Raspberry.

"Three rotations," replied Cranberry.

"What about worst?" said Lars.

Nobody responded. Then Cherry Ruby whispered, "Two hours."

Lars looked down. "Rhodonite," he said, "calculate the safest and quickest way to Homeworld."

"There's not many options, captain," replied Rhodonite, her four eyes wide. "Fluorite reports from downstairs that Emerald's missile took out our cloaking system...we need to stop for repairs before we make any more dives, or we're space dust!"

"Oh," said Cranberry, crestfallen.

"No, we can still do this, murmured Lars. "What we need is a ship already in the area that's big enough for all of Cranberry's rebels, but which can get past Diamond sensors."

"Ahh," said Left Rutile.

"I know who you're thinking," said Right.

Lars snapped his fingers. "Yep. We know a girl who owes me a few favors. How many gems in your party?"

"Twelve," said Raspberry.

"Thirteen," corrected Cranberry. "You forgot Calcite."

Raspberry gave her a silt-eating grin. "No, I didn't. YOU forgot Tiger's Eye."

Cranberry sighed. "Twelve. Including a recent permafusion."

"Perfect," said Lars. "I'll let my contact know. So if you get a call from a space pirate asking for your coordinates, give 'em."

Cranberry began to say alright, but then Lars added, "Wait! One more thing. We received a transmission from two topazes. She was part of the extraction team that took me and...and Rose Quartz from Earth."

"Is she hostile?" Raspberry folded her arms.

"I wasn't sure at first. But she tried to help me and Rose escape. When she heard that we escaped on our own, she called to say she's glad. But Yellow Diamond is cracking down on every gem who has come in contact with Rose Quartz, and Topaz is getting scared. Before you meet my contact, can you rendezvous with her?"

Raspberry and Cranberry exchanged glances before saying in unison, "We can." Raspberry added, "Thank you, Captain."

"No. Thank you. And I'm sorry we have to do this." Lars inhaled shakily, and for another brief moment Zircon caught a shimmer in his bravado. "I know what it's like to leave your home." Cranberry's lips pressed together and her hand joined with Raspberry's. But neither said anything. Lars' gaze drifted as if searching for someone on their side of the screen, and locked gazes with the zircons.

"I think...that's it," said Lars to Raspberry and Cranberry. "But can I speak to the zircons? Privately?"

"Of course," said Cranberry, mildly surprised. "I suppose, um, we'll meet you back at the base then." She was trying to talk to the zircons while avoiding Blue Zircon's gaze. Hm. Without another word, Raspberry led Cranberry to the ladder chute, picked her up bridal-style, and jumped down and out of sight. Ruby hastened after them.

"We should pro'lly fix that ladder," 5XU suggested, and so the peridots activated their helicopter fingers and descended down also. Blue and Yellow Zircon were left alone with the transmission.

"If you're going to scold me for bubbling your head, Captain," said Yellow Zircon, offering the title with disdain, "I am deeply regretful of my actions. Also, if you don't believe it, then I didn't do it at all."

Judging by the look on Lars' face, he didn't buy either statement. "Right," he said slowly. "So are you staying just so you can insult me, or do you want to hear what I have to say about Rose Quartz? Because you can go."

Yellow Zircon never flinched, just folded her arms and rolled her eyes. But she stayed firmly put.

"This is about Rose Quartz?" asked Blue Zircon.

Lars nodded, but hesitated. "I have something I gotta get off my chest. I didn't tell the others because they've got enough on their plates as it is, but I feel like you two would wanna know."

"Know what?" Yellow said.  
A chill ran under Zircon's gem. "Did something happen to her?!"

"I mean," stammered Lars, "not really? Well, kind of, yes."

"But she's still in one piece?" Blue said cautiously.

"Well...no."

Zircon could have proofed right there. All of this...for nothing? It couldn't be. Her form felt like a black hole, tearing itself apart from the inside out. It just couldn't be...

Then Lars' eyes widened. "It's not like THAT!" he blustered. "Rose had a son! That's what I was gonna say. The Rose you met during the trial, he's okay."

But it was no more reassuring. "Rose Quartz conquered an ENTIRE SUN?!"

Lars frowned. "Well, yeah, it wasn't, like, a half sun, and 'conquered' isn't exactly the word I'd use..."

Meanwhile, Yellow Zircon's eyes were almost bulging out of her head. "Then the legends of her power are true," she murmured reverently. "To harness the blazing, burning power of an entire SUN..."

"Wait — OH! No, no, not that kind of sun!" Lars yelped.

"There are other kinds of suns?" Yellow interrupted.

"Like — a — a SUPERGIANT SUN?!" Blue cried.

"NO! SON. S-O-N, son. It's something that humans normally have so we can reproduce. 'Cause we don't have Kindergartens. A son is a new human that has been made by two older humans. I don't know how, but Rose Quartz figured out how to have a son like humans do, and that's the kid that you put on trial."

The zircons fell silent. Suddenly, Zircon wasn't sure if that was better or worse than Rose shattering, or having a star at her disposal.

"So...Rose Quartz is still out there?" asked Zircon, her voice small, with fading hope.

Lars hesitated again. "I don't know. Rose Quartz's gem is still in the body of her son. But it's not her body or her mind. Those are just...gone. Besides a few gem powers, the kid you met is a young human boy named Steven Quartz Universe. With his own mind and body."

More silence. It made sense. Too much. Why Rose — or Not-Rose — didn't know how Pink Diamond had been shattered. Her strange appearance modifiers. Her obvious ignorance of the Homeworld legal system. "So she doesn't have Rose's memories? None of them?"

Lars shook his head. "No. But he's still TRYING to be Rose. That's why he testified as her."

"But Rose didn't just say that in COURT!" Yellow snapped. "What about the eyewitness? Has she just been gallivanting across the galaxy, telling some gems that she's Rose Quartz, but not others?"

"YES! I mean, not really, but — I don't know! And I don't think Steven does either!" Lars rubbed his forehead. "Stars' sakes. I didn't even know I COULD get headaches in this new body."

"Everyone's just getting new bodies nowadays," Yellow drawled.

"This is why I'm telling you two," said Lars. "Because as soon as you get to earth, you're gonna want to ask him questions. But...he's in really, really deep emotional schist right now. And he's only, like, ten years old. Imagine being ten years old and having an entire planet telling you that you're a criminal and you need to die, even though you never did anything wrong."

"Oh," Zircon murmured. Suddenly, her gem ached. She remembered a young, eccentric starlite zircon, barely a century old, who she had mentored for a time...the thought of her with a false death sentence on her shoulders was too much to bear.

"Yeah." Lars hung his head. "Anyway. Um. You guys should probably get going. Topaz is waiting, and my contact is already on her way.

"Thank you, Captain," said Zircon, almost without thinking. Lars nodded, the transmission faded out, and the communications room went dark and cold.

A hand pressed against hers.

"Hey," said Yellow. "The transmission's over. You don't need to stare into empty air anymore."

Zircon blinked and shook her head. "I know," she replied, and then, inadvertently, whispered the name: "Steven."

i **am SO SORRY AT HOW LATE THIS CHAPTER IS HOLY JEEZ. final exams and college app deadlines hit me like a dump truck and ive been SICK for all of winter break so far hhhhhh**

 **but ANYWAY! LARS IS HERE! AND THINGS ARE GONNA HAPPEN! oh jeez things are gonna happen. the ending of this fic is like 90% planned from here, i am aiming to finish this fic somewhere around 33 chapters. technically, 30 chapters and 3 parts of an epilogue, but thats for me to know and y'all to enjoy when it happens. trust me theres a point to it.**

 **two more things:**

 **1.) I GOT BORED AND MADE TWO TWITTERS — one for all updates on my fanfic writing, including the latest update days, commentary, and some fun facts. if you read my author's notes at all i STRONGLY recommend following the account fortissimo_fics.**

 **the second twitter is a zircon roleplay twitter called Starlite_Lawyer. i just think its funny and if you like this fic at all i think you'll like it. if you dont like this fic idk why youre here**

 **2.) i have released my first bonus story for this universe! there will undoubtedly be more. this one is called "The Last and the First" and it is about two ocs, Black Zircon and Cocoa Brown Zircon, who are very much in love when they shouldnt be. i have just posted it in my profile and if you havent, PLEASE check it out, i am very proud of it and i hope you will enjoy as much as i do!**

 **meanwhile i do NOT know when new chapters will be out but (again) updates will be announced on fortissimo_fics. and now that i am on break, i hope to be writing more. thank you all for your patience and feedback on this story, couldn't do it without you!**


	26. Chapter 26

Zircon wasn't actually in the area to pick out the words of the yell that was so loud it nearly caused the entire Underworld to cave in, but she heard a good amount of its volume at a distance, and was told that it went something like this:

" _She's doing WHAT?!"_

It was, true to form, Raspberry.

By the time the zircons and the peridots returned to the terminal to see what had happened, the entire place was in such commotion that Zircon legitimately feared that they were under attack. Rebels dashed to and fro, carrying weapons and bags of their belongings, wrapping their gems in knit lead fabric to protect from robonoids. The place echoed with the cacophony of panic.

Cranberry, standing on a crate, and Cherry Ruby, floating, stood in the middle of the hubbub, calling directions. Ducking under the heavy I-beam that Hematite was casually carrying over her shoulder, Zircon jogged to Cranberry's side. "What's going — "

"We're leaving the terminal," Cranberry said shortly. "Cherry foresaw another inescapable doom, so we kind of have to hurry. Eventually, the plan is that all of us will rendezvous with Lars' contact and finally get the hell off this planet. Tiger's Eye! Calcite goes in the crate! She can't run; you're gonna have to carry her!"

Zircon took a polite step back, then noticed Raspberry in the corner tying a scarf around her forehead gem. Even without seeing her face, Zircon could tell that she was fuming. Her movements were sharp, and her fists clenched more than usual, and when she stood up and picked up two giant seax knives from the ground, her boots stomped so loudly that they seemed to shake the terminal. Still, she took the time to go to Cranberry and kiss her (they were the same height while Cranberry stood on the crate) before stomping away again, out the front entrance.

"Where's Raspberry going?" asked Zircon.

"Saving Aqua P-Pearl," Cherry smiled. She seemed unusually gleeful with all the chaos around her. "She ran away, and — and at the worst t-t-time, too!"

"None of us are very happy with that pearl," murmured Cranberry. "In any case — minus Raspberry, we're splitting up into teams. Hyacinth, 5XI, you two are with the fleeing team, which is the big group over there. Hematite is leading you through the tunnels to the rendezvous point with Lars' contact."

"Right," said Yellow.

"Got it," 5XI nodded.

"Starlite, 5XU," Cranberry continued, "I want you two to come with me and Cherry. Our job is to pick up Topaz and then meet the others at the rendezvous."

Zircon's stomach just about tied itself in a knot. "Pick up — who?! You mean, I'm going...on a mission?"

"This could be dangerous, and Raspberry can't be there. We might need your shields," said Cranberry, before turning over her shoulder and hollering, "Heliodor, I'm not going to tell you again! You're following HEMATITE! Hematite has a ridiculous hat! Write it down if you can't remember!"

Zircon bit her lip. "Okay." But Cranberry was no longer listening.

Ten minutes later, the chaos left the terminal, and five rebels led by Hematite fled into the disused transport tunnels. The mission party of four, with Cranberry and Cherry at the head, and 5XU and Zircon following stupidly behind, set off through the Underworld.

It was silent as they left the shelter of the station, and equally so as Cherry led them up six levels of the Underworld to a dusty, disused warp pad. The only sounds were their footsteps and a soft "plink, plink" from a little handheld transmitter, which Cranberry looked at once in a while and tucked in the lead sash around her waist.

"Let's just hope no one's there to meet us," whispered 5XU as she stepped up to the warp pad. Everyone looked at Cherry Ruby, who just shrugged.

"Just b-because I don't f, f, for, fore — predict it, d-doesn't mean it can't happen," she said neutrally.

"Helpful," murmured Zircon.

They warped away.

Zircon was not sure was she expected when they appeared on the receiving warp pad. But it wasn't a place that was shockingly familiar — a place still thick with the stench of smoke and ash, a place dark and cold with tremendous, curving walls like scorched ice. Far above were the shining pink skies of Homeworld, as if a great hand had pulled off the cap on the hellscape underneath. Between them and the sky was a web. A web of warped glass walkways, tattered conveyor belts, and the monstrous silhouaettes of collapsed machines.

"The Harvester," Zircon whispered.

At Zircon's side, 5XU's fingers floated up to her mouth. She just stared out at the scene, her eyes glittering, frozen until Cranberry touched her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" asked Cranberry quietly. Blinking hard, 5XU looked at her feet and then nodded.

"I thought, I could handle seeing it again, but I just now got so scared for some reason...I'm fine. I'll be fine. You guys need me."

"Do you — want a hug?" said Ruby.

A pause. Then a nod. Floating back down to 5XU's level, Ruby hugged her, and stayed there in 5XU's arms as they stepped off the warp pad. Something ached very deep in Zircon's gem.

"It's this way," was all 5XU said after that, leaving Cranberry and Zircon to follow after her.

It was too solemn. Zircon had not come to associate the Harvester with warm and fuzzy feelings in the first place, and the darkness and ruin around her did not help matters.

"Um," she said, not liking how her voice echoed dissonantly in the wreckage, "That warp pad is new."

"It was installed when this was declared a crime scene," Cranberry said softly. "The original warp pad was destroyed in the explosion, and the ground above is too unstable for anyone to walk on. Any extra weight in the wrong place and the connecting tunnels would collapse."

They passed a familiar row of barrels and a control panel, which was just partly crushed under a section of a walkway. Zircon shivered and tried not to think of the last time she had been there. "What are they doing here now?"

5XU fiddled with her metallic fingers. "Investigating. About you."

Silence fell. Zircon, for some reason, felt like she should be tiptoeing.

"Why did Topaz come here, then?" she asked.

"It's...one of the f-few places on Homeworld where nobody wants to go," said Ruby softly. "It's s-s-safer."

They reached a lift, and Cranberry pulled the little transmitter out of her belt to check it. "We need to go eight floors up."

"D-don't use this lift," Ruby warned.

"This way then," said 5XU, taking them down a pitch-dark corridor. All four gems pulled down their lead sashes to light up their gems.

They kept on like this, wandering through the smoke and haze, Ruby warning them where not to go. And yet, the foreboding walls were not the heaviest things on Zircon's mind.

Finally, as the four of them crawled out of a partly-collapsed tunnel and she took Cranberry's hand to help her up, she worked up the courage to say something. It wasn't about the first heaviest thing. Perhaps the third or fourth heaviest. But it was something, at least.

"Cranberry?" she said. To her chagrin, her voice wobbled just slightly. Cranberry looked up at her, worried.

"Is...something wrong, Zircon?"

"No! Well," Zircon quickly amended her first statement, fully aware of the contradiction. She cleared her throat to compose herself. "I had a question about Strawberry Quartz. As you hopefully know, I ran into her earlier. She seemed a little, oh, I don't know...on-edge."

Something flickered across Cranberry's face, too fast to identify, because she turned away just as quick. "Oh?" she asked airily.

"Should I be worried?"

"Not at all," said Cranberry in that calm voice that told Zircon to definitely be worried.

"Okay," she said, testing the waters, "because I seem to be the only gem who makes her like that. They all said she used to be a familiar face around the terminal, until Yellow and I showed up."

"And who are 'they'?"

"Literally every other rebel."

"They don't know what they're talking about. Only a handful of them have been there before you. Just...I don't see why it's important."

She was avoiding the conversation. But Zircon was a zircon; she had played this game before. "Except that all of them, except Calcite, were rebels before me," Zircon pointed out.

Cranberry fell silent.

"Cranberry, I just want to know," said Zircon softly. "I don't have to know WHAT it is. But if you're hiding something from me, I kind of want to know, rather than just worrying that Strawberry hates me. Unless...unless the thing you're hiding is that she hates me. In that case, please tell me everything so I can self-deprecate normally."

Despite herself, Cranberry smiled, her free hand floating up to hide it. "She doesn't hate you," she said, and breathed like she was about to say something else, but cut it off. A second later she continued with, "It's...a lot more complicated than that. But it's between me and Raspberry."

Zircon thought about that. Way to tease at the answer. "Do one of you two hate me?" She raised an eyebrow.

"No! Neither — none of us hate you. Oh, it's so silly. I can't believe I'm stressed about it."

"Silliness is relative. If you're stressed about it, it's important to you," Zircon pointed out.

Cranberry sighed deeply. "Maybe. But it's still silly."

"But it has to do with me."

"Yes."

"And your relationship with Raspberry is fine?"

"Yes, Zircon, it's fine, there's nothing really wrong."

"But you're still holding my hand."

There was a split second of silence as Cranberry realized what Zircon said. That soft hand in Zircon's, still there since Zircon had helped her up from crawling, jerked away. By now, both 5XU and Ruby were staring over their shoulders in fascination, but when Cranberry looked at them, they whirled to face forward again.

"Cranberry, if something's bothering you, I won't judge," Zircon tried one last time. "I'm a defense zircon. I've heard it all. You'd have to admit something VERY strange for me to think it's not something we all deal with sometimes."

Sighing, Cranberry began to fiddle with her bracelets. "It's...not…oh, pebbles. You wouldn't want to hear it."

"Well, now, that's just making me want to hear MORE."

"I just — I just don't like talking about my problems! I admit it!"

"YOUR problems?"

"Well. Mine and Raspberry's."

"Would you mind if I asked her to tell me what's wrong?"

"I doubt she would tell you."

"Alright. I think I'll try it. When we rendezvous with her."

"Fine!"

"Fine."

Silence passed. They ducked under a railing and then Cranberry sighed again.

"Oh, I'll just say it," she murmured. "It started with me, when — "

"I h — hear something," said Cherry, stopping.

All at once, the search party froze in their tracks. A second later, instinct and training kicked in, each of them drawing their weapons and pulling their lead scarves down to hide their gems. Zircon pulled out her pole, dropping down to a fighting stance. 5XU went to draw her blaster, but Cherry stopped her with a sharp hand gesture.

After a few moments trembling in the silence and dark, Zircon cursed silently, then glanced over to Cranberry. The tourmaline had never seemed so relieved to be interrupted.

Frustrated, Zircon tried again. "Cranberry — "

"SHHH," hissed Cherry.

They went quiet again. It was so quiet, in fact, that Zircon could hear fabric shifting as they all struggled to stand still.

"What?" said Cherry, rather loud. It made all three of the others jump.

"Cherry, what the hell," Cranberry whispered.

"SHHHHHH!" Cherry waved with her hands. "I c-c-can hear them!"

"Who?" asked Zircon.

"SSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"The topazes?" asked 5XU.

"What p-part of 'SHHHHHHH' do you n-n-n-not understand?!"

Everyone went quiet again. Then Cherry said again, very clearly, "Y-yes...she's here."

A short pause.

"No! That's — that's — that's mean. Don't say that. I don't like you."

A longer pause.

"I l-l-like YOU, though. And you. And you too. And you. And...m, maybe you."

"What the HELL," Cranberry repeated, a little more emphatic this time. Zircon wasn't really sure what "the hell" was, and she supposed this was another one of those things that seemed to have been passed between Lars the human and this certain subculture of gems, but from the intonation she got the gist of it. Whatever Cherry was doing was incredibly strange. Talking to someone nobody else could hear, or to more than one…

When the memory hit her, a chill ran under her gem. Cherry was defective for more than just her doomsaying; she remembered this. It had been in the files for that very first trial.

"Of course, how could I have forgotten," Zircon mused. "We have a ruby that can communicate with gem shards."


	27. Chapter 27

The shards were not Topaz. That was all that Cherry Ruby would tell them.

It was only a small comfort. Still conversing quietly with the voices that no one else could hear, she led Blue Zircon, Cranberry Tourmaline, and 5XU away from the epicenter of the explosion, down corridors that got progressively less desolate until the only sign of Zircon's terrorism was the lingering stench of smoke. Finally they reached an intact door with a shiny new sign plastered to it — "Quarantine, Code AA92." Ruby, not seeing the sign, breezed right through the door. Cranberry and 5XU seemed not to notice it either.

"Um, guys?" Zircon hissed, pointing to the sign. "Do you know what quarantine means? Oh, and this one has a broken gemstone picture on it! A broken gem!"

"Shhh," was all Ruby said. Gulping, Zircon followed her teammates into the room.

As in the rest of the Harvester, the power was out except a portable light installed on the ceiling. A little more light filtered in through a bay window on the far end of the room, which seemed to have once looked out upon the machinery of the facility but was now translucent and blackened with smoke. Three rows of tables took up the area of the room, with five or six small cylinders lined up on each table.

"This was an examination room," said 5XU softly. "We would take gems here to see what damage had been done to them, and if we could reuse them."

"Quiet," said Ruby. "I'm listening."

She had grown awfully quiet as the team had drawn closer to the room and now it seemed as if she was letting the ghosts in her head talk. But for all that Zircon cared, she couldn't hear the ghosts, so she wanted to ask questions. Leaning away from Cherry Ruby, she turned to 5XU and whispered, "Are there...shattered gems inside those cases?"

"I'm not sure," 5XU admitted. "The Harvester only had a prisoner population of twelve when you escaped, and they were all over the Harvester; there shouldn't be this many examination pods in one room…"

"But Cherry's talking to them," put in Cranberry Tourmaline. The three gems looked at the ruby. She was hovering a meter above the floor, floating up and down the rows of tables. Every once in a while she stopped, stared at a particular cylinder, exchanged a one- or two-word reply that told the three bystanders nothing new, and moved on.

"That's so creepy," Zircon murmured.

"Hmm," said Ruby suddenly.

She stopped at a cylinder at the very end of the middle table, separated from the others by a space. "You're the m-m-m-mean one," she said accusingly. A few seconds' silence passed. "No! Oh, oh, oh, oh, that's s-s-so terr-rrible of you to say…y-you know what? I — I — I would tell you to go frack yourself but looks like you already did! Good day, CLOD!"

Ruby smacked the offending cylinder, causing it to wobble. Despite herself, Zircon couldn't help but let out a laugh, even though she knew it wasn't funny. She had just never heard Ruby swear before and was interested to notice that her stutter disappeared when she was angry enough. But when Zircon looked at her companions, the humor faded. Cranberry's hand was over her mouth. 5XU's eyes were the size of activator panels.

"It can't be," she barely managed to whisper. Before anyone could hold her back, 5XU stepped slowly to the nearest cylinder and peered inside.

Then she screamed.

Instinctively, Zircon leapt at her, clamping her hand over 5XU's mouth. Cherry Ruby whirled around. As 5XU's scream echoed into the furthest corners of the Harvester and Zircon's gem went cold in fear, 5XU collapsed in Zircon's arms.

"No...no," she sobbed, over and over and over. She trembled as if she had been stabbed with a destabilizer.

Zircon shouldn't have looked.

Inside the cylinder, under a glass lid, was a handful of shards. A peridot's shards, but smeared with so much grease and ash that they were nearly unrecognizable. The side of the container had a label: "Peridot 2F5L.5XH; crushed under debris in north wing." Zircon had seen gem shards before — she had even specialized in shatter cases before Rose Quartz. She thought she was numbed. The concept of eternity cut short was terrible, but it wasn't paralyzing.

Until now, when she looked down and knew that she had shattered that peridot.

"They're all peridots," whispered Cranberry Tourmaline, tiptoeing down the aisles of cylinders as if the shards would come alive and attack her. "Cherry, for the last time, what are they saying?"

Ruby floated over one cylinder, her hands clasped under her cloak. "They're s-s-scared," she said solemnly. "Some, angry. Th-they can sense her here."

"Who?" asked Zircon. She did not expect Cherry to turn and, despite the blindfold over her blind gem, to look straight at her.

"You," Ruby said.

Something clenched tight in Zircon's gut. For a second she wanted to run, to get away from the judging voices she couldn't hear. But 5XU was still limp and sobbing in her arms and even when Cranberry came over to take her from Zircon, something tied Zircon's feet to the floor and she could do nothing but shuffle slowly down the rows of broken peridots, her gem cold as ice. _Peridot 2F5L.5XM. Peridot 2J2P.9NV. Peridot 2J2P.9NA. Peridot 2F5L.5XA. Peridot 1O9B.4DD. Peridot 2J2P.9NZ._ Code after code after code, all seeming to blend together after the first six, devoid of individuality. Just driving home the point that nobody cared. That Zircon hadn't cared.

Only one stood out: Shadow _Agate 6R8.4ZNN._

Zircon's breath hitched in her throat and stuck there. This was the one that Ruby had been so angry with before, and as Zircon stared at the cracked red gem inside the cylinder, Ruby let out a whimper.

"G-get away from th, th, there," she hissed. "She won't, she won't stop yelling now…"

"We shouldn't be here," said Zircon hollowly. She couldn't feel her own hands. They were clenched so tight that they trembled. "We need to leave."

"Zircon?" Cranberry whispered, but Zircon didn't hear. Involuntarily, she backed up until her back hit the table behind her, and her hand bumped against another cold metal cylinder. It fell and Zircon scrambled to catch it before it rolled off the table. Peridot 2A1B.2ZM.

"I shouldn't b — "

A door slammed in the distance.

Everyone froze. Then, all at once, they moved, scrambling to the front of the room and pressing themselves in a cluster against the wall. If someone came in, they would have a split second to ambush them, but one look at each other's faces and you could tell that they weren't even ready to do that. Only two had weapons, 5XU with her blaster and Zircon with her polestaff, but both were trembling from grief and terror.

It was so silent that the only noise anyone could hear was the thump, thump, thump of heavy boots against the floor. Zircon couldn't think, couldn't move, the nightmarish cast to everything around her made her wish to fall through the floor, made her beg to the stars that this was all a hallucination and she was really just gem dust in the bowels of the Harvester.

The bootfalls stopped outside the door. Then a heavy hand knocked.

"Come in," said Cherry innocently. Cranberry clapped a hand over the ruby's mouth. Then:

"Strawberry Quartz? It's — it's Topaz. I'm coming in."

The door opened and a very large yellow topaz stepped in. A blue force field accidentally popped up around all four gems, which made Topaz jump back and hold up her double-ended mace, but then Cranberry Tourmaline put her hand on Zircon's shoulder. Embarrassed, Zircon dismissed the bubble and shrank back.

"Topaz," said Cranberry, stepping forward, "my name is Cranberry Tourmaline. This is Starlite Zircon, Peridot, and Black Cherry Ruby. Lars sent us."

Topaz stared at her, clearly uncomfortable. "Where's Strawberry?"

"She had to unfuse. It's just me today," Cranberry explained quickly. "I know it might be hard to trust me, but you can ask questions later. We should get going."

"A fusion…" whispered Topaz. Her eyes were narrowed, suspicious, as they darted around. When they rested on Zircon, they widened. "You, I know you from somewhere…"

Her mouth dry, Zircon looked at the two gems on either side of Topaz's head and realized where. Not only from the wanted posters and newsfeeds proclaiming Zircon's terrorism, but from work. She had seen these two around, working mainly for Yellow Diamond's business, but more recently in the court anterooms. Zircon had passed by one of the two topazes on the way to Rose Quartz's — well, Steven's — holding cell. But before she could mention that, Topaz's attention was on something a little more alarming.

She was looking at the shattered gems. "These are the victims of the bombing," she said. "What were you doing here?"

"Th — th — they're scared," said Ruby.

Fear flickered across Topaz's face. "Scared?"

Ruby nodded. "I can, can hear them."

"Long story short, Cherry can hear the thoughts of shattered gems. We thought we were following her to you, but it was just them," Cranberry told Topaz. "We weren't doing anything to them, I swear. We just were, well…"

"Visiting them and leaving again," said 5XU.

Everything went quiet.

"It's okay," Topaz said. "I...I thought of it too. Does Captain Lars have anything that could help them?"

Nobody said anything, instead just all looking to Cranberry Tourmaline. "No," she finally admitted.

5XU raised her head. "My colleagues are working on something that could," she barely whispered, still teary-eyed. "A replica of a rose quartz's healing tears. It's...it's far from being finished. But it's a chance."

"It won't work," said Ruby.

Silence fell again.

"At least it's a chance." Cranberry blinked hard and turned to the door. "Let's go."

Sniffling, 5XU followed after her. Then Ruby, then Topaz. Only Zircon was left, staring listlessly at the rows of shattered gems. She wanted to leave, she hated having to see these things, but her feet wouldn't move. Her palms were sweaty under the gloves. Her tongue, dry and heavy. It was lethologica at its worst, a fleeting yet everpresent guilt of "You could have done something" and "You're forgetting". Forgetting what? That she was too careless to prevent needless destruction? Too selfish to even think about them once in a while? That she was leaving them here to a Homeworld that didn't care for them —

 _Rose Quartz._

The thought hit her so fast that she staggered. Suddenly she was moving again, scrambling to the nearest cylinder and holding it up to the light. About a forearm long, the width of her fist. Not small, and she was no pearl, but she could at least try. Squeezing her eyes shut, she concentrated on opening up her gemstone and lifted the cylinder up to the entrance.

"Zircon?"

Zircon whirled around. Cranberry Tourmaline stood in the doorway, looking puzzled. Soon after Topaz, Ruby, and 5XU appeared behind her. "What are you doing to those gems?" Cranberry asked.

"Rose Quartz!" Zircon replied. "During her trial, a witness swore that Rose Quartz healed her gem — Rose is on earth and we're going to meet her, I can't believe I didn't think of that before! We can have these gems healed, we just have to bring them with! And — somehow — fit these containers inside my gem — "

Topaz stepped forward. "Let me do it," she said, taking the cylinder. Inhaling, she bent down and let her left gem glow, then guided the cylinder inside her gem until it was gone. She grimaced.

"Give me another," she ordered, and all four rebels rushed to get more.

It wasn't exactly what Zircon would have imagined if she had thought of "a heroic action". But it was something. It was rushing back and forth with broken gems in her hands, praying to the stars above that Rose — that Steven would consent to heal them. It was apologizing over and over because even this wasn't enough to soothe her own guilty conscience, and asking Ruby again and again if the broken gems could hear her. (They couldn't. But they could vaguely sense her emotions, and most of them got the message.) It was enough for now.

Once done, the four rebels stepped back from Topaz and looked up at her. She wore a nauseous face, like she had swallowed something strange and needed to be sick, but she just nodded and gave a shaky thumbs-up. "We're good," she said finally. "As long as Topaz and Topaz stay fused, I should be able to hold them."

"It won't be for long," put in Cranberry Tourmaline. "Once we return to the other rebels, you can give them up to Aqua Pearl, and she can hold them inst — "

The door opened.

For the second time that day, everyone jumped back. But this time, it was no false alarm. A tiny aquamarine hovered in the door, arms folded and her wand dangling dangerously from her gloved fingers.

"And what 'other rebels' are those?" she asked. She was the only sound in the dead silence.


	28. Chapter 28

Topaz let out a choked gasp.

"Aquamarine! What — what are you doing h — "

"Funny that YOU'RE the one asking that question!" Aquamarine snarled. "Using a forged Diamond order to slip out of your barracks, sneaking around a crime scene, speaking with wanted traitors to kidnap victims of terrorism — why, it looks a lot like TREASON, doesn't it?"

Topaz's eyes were wide, brimming with tears. "You've been following me?!"

Before Aquamarine could reply, 5XU pushed in front of Topaz. "Stay back!" she yelled, fumbling to load her blaster. "We don't — we don't want anything to do with you!"

"Y-y-y-yeah! W-we'll blast you to s-s-smithereens!" Ruby squeaked.

"I mean, maybe not! Maybe nobody gets blasted!" Cranberry cut in, folding her hands anxiously in front of her. "Look, um, Aquamarine, clearly we've come to an impasse, and you're outnumbered. So, um, if you'll just let us through with Topaz, we won't try to harm you and we all live, wouldn't that be nicer?"

For a second, Aquamarine just stared in clear disgust. Then she threw her hands in the air.

"Unbelievable!" she cried. "Why do I have to do — everything — MYSELF?"

Her hand lashed out. A beam of blue light shot from the tip of her wand, arcing towards Topaz and 5XU. Then Zircon thrust out her hands and a bright blue bubble popped up around all five rebels, taking the full intensity of the paralyzing beam. The beam bounced off the bubble and hurled Aquamarine back with the force.

Zircon gasped, her knees locking and dropping her to the ground.

She knew from her practices with Raspberry Quartz that she could feel much of what hit her bubbles — they were a part of her, in a sense, and while they might not damage her form, they mildly affected what she felt inside the bubble. A hard bludgeoning blow would be met with a feeling like someone had smacked her in the chest; an electric shock like a destabilizer caused an uncomfortable tingling down her spine. She vaguely remembered that when she had stopped the transport crash, she had felt like someone socked her in the gut, but she had also been supercharged with adrenaline and a deep unidentified caring for Raspberry.

This was different. For some reason, it hurt less to get hit by a train than it did to get hit by an aquamarine's freeze-ray, which even in her pain Zircon couldn't help but feel was contradictory. All her joints locked up and she crumbled. The bubble stayed up, but when the bolt had hit it, the bubble bounced back a few feet and now Zircon sat limply on the ground, head lolling against the bubble wall. Her entire body tingled and refused to move at first before her fingers twitched.

"Zircon!" Cranberry cried, rushing to her side. "Are you alright?"

"Ymm...yes," Zircon managed, opening and closing her jaw. Her teeth tingled. With Cranberry's help, she stood again, pulled out her polestaff, and used it to hold herself up as she looked out of the bubble.

Aquamarine was on the ground in the doorway, clearly just as shocked as Zircon was. When she got her wings, she wobbled in the air and her once-immaculate bob haircut stuck up on one side. Her wand had skittered across the room and rolled to a stop in the corner. "Y-you can't do that!" Aquamarine spluttered. "That's not fair! Zircons can't make force fields!"

"This one does," Zircon replied, forcing a smirk. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll be going."

"Oh, no you don't — !" she shrieked, but suddenly noticed something. So did Zircon and Topaz. Three pairs of eyes landed on the little black wand, equidistant from each of them.

"Drop the bubble," Topaz said.

There were no questions. Zircon let the bubble go and both Topaz and Aquamarine shot forward, one a raging bull and the other a speeding arrow. But Zircon was moving too. Out of sheer luck, she swung her polestaff as hard as she could and met Aquamarine midair.

The sound that Aquamarine and the pole made could be best described as THWOCK!, though there was a little scream in there as well as Aquamarine hurtled across the room and hit the opposite wall. Topaz, meanwhile, scooped up the wand and crushed it in one huge fist.

"NO!" Aquamarine shrieked. "Oooh, you'll PAY for this! TRAITORS!"

Leaping back into the air, Aquamarine ripped her white gloves off and clenched her tiny hands into fists. Blue electricity, just like Zircon's, burst to life around her fingers. Then she pushed off the wall and hurled herself at Topaz.

Zircon stepped in again, managing to make a bubble around herself and Topaz. When Aquamarine's fist hit the surface, it caused both Aquamarine and Zircon to fly back, but this time Topaz caught her.

"Go! GO!" Zircon yelled to the others while Aquamarine was stunned.

She saw 5XU load up her blaster before the entire room shook, a green missile taking out a chunk of the ceiling. Dim pink light poured in through clouds of dust. Then through the dust Zircon watched 5XU lift Cranberry out of the Harvester, Cherry Ruby in tow. Good. At least they could get away.

Zircon turned to Topaz. "What's the plan?"

"I thought you had a plan!" replied Topaz, eyes wide.

"Oh." Zircon had dropped her polestaff so she snatched it back up, and her monocle was slipping down her nose so she took it off and put it inside her gem. Aquamarine was struggling to her feet. "Uh, um...plan...plan plan plan — kick her ass?"

"Good as any," Topaz grimaced, summoning her maces.

Zircon dropped the bubble. In response, Aquamarine shrieked, whipped a destabilizer from her gem, and charged through the air. Zircon dodged but Topaz swung her weapon at Aquamarine, barely missing her but causing her to tumble back in alarm.

A lesson came back to Zircon — training with Raspberry Quartz and Tiger's Eye. "You single gems, when you're fighting with fusions, save your fusions for the enemies who DON'T have destabilizers," Raspberry had said. Tiger's Eye had volunteered to be the fusion, and Zircon flashed back to a situation much like this one, where Raspberry was in close quarters with Tiger's Eye and holding a "destabilizer", which was actually a short piece of pipe. Zircon had been the only one who could do something but she'd frozen. Because of her, Tiger's Eye got bopped with the pipe.

"NEVER hesitate!" Raspberry had yelled. "Your fusion is your greatest asset — if you can help her out, NEVER HESITATE!"

Never hesitate.

Too risky for a bubble, so Zircon sheathed her staff and jumped (she'd been working on her jumping, too). Just as Aquamarine reeled back from another broad swing of Topaz's mace, Zircon barreled into the tiny beryl at top speed, grabbing the handle of the destabilizer and attempting to wrest it from Aquamarine's tiny clenched fist as she hugged Aquamarine's waist and dragged her down.

"Hey, quit it!" Aquamarine screamed. "Get off me!"

Furious, she started pulling at Zircon's headscarf as they both struggled with the destabilizer. "You're — ruining my scarf!" growled Zircon, yanking the destabilizer towards her. But Aquamarine was surprisingly strong. So strong that all of Zircon's attention was devoted to playing tug-of-war with the weapon and none of it noticed that Aquamarine was flapping her water wings as hard as she could until Zircon's feet left the ground.

Then things happened in a blur. Literally. With an unforeseen burst of strength, Aquamarine took off like a rocket, dragging Zircon with her. It was all Zircon could do to drag her feet against the slick floor to slow them down. Then they made a painful crash through a pane of glass — the window overlooking the main body of the Harvester — and suddenly Zircon's feet had no purchase at all.

Her gem went cold even before she looked. Then she did. It was a mass of smoky blackness two hundred feet below, with nothing but the fragile skeletons of catwalks and limp tendons of conveyor belts to break the fall. Loosened by Aquamarine's scrabbling and the fight, Zircon's headscarf finally unraveled and slipped free, fluttering down into the abyss. Looking up, all Zircon saw was Homeworld's pink sky and Aquamarine's leering face.

"I said, get the frack off me!" she snapped, but her face was visibly strained from the effort as her wings flapped fast enough to blur.

"Give me the destabilizer!" Zircon told her.

"Or WHAT? You'll drag us both down to our shatterings?!" Aquamarine gave a harder tug on the weapon and pulled Zircon's uncovered hair, but Zircon was still holding onto both the destabilizer and Aquamarine's waist for dear life. "Give — it — UP ALREADY!"

Suddenly, Aquamarine's wings gave out. A jolt of adrenaline shot through Zircon, knocking the wind out of her. Her hand let go of the destabilizer and clamped around Aquamarine's waist instead — which was conveniently when Aquamarine's wings regained strength.

"HAHA!" she cackled, thrusting the crackling destabilizer tip an inch from Zircon's nose.

With her free hand, she grabbed Zircon's cravat and yanked so hard that it hurt Zircon's neck and her gem, pulling her up until they were nearly eye-to-eye, hovering hundreds of feet above solid ground. Her hand shaking in rage, Aquamarine held the destabilizer prongs so close to Zircon's throat that she could feel the searing heat. Her voice closed up in fear.

"You really thought you could do it, didn't you?" Aquamarine giggled. "What a stupid zircon, thinking she could defy the Diamonds twice and walk free! Thinking that she's anything more than a slave, designed to fail her own clients! Thinking she's a second Rose Quartz, starting a revolution of her own, how cute!"

"That's — not — " Zircon tried to protest, but Aquamarine yanked her cravat again and caused her to gag.

"I really figured a defense zircon would have a better alibi," she hissed. "Not that it matters. You have nowhere to go but down. And your gravity manipulation is honestly so sloppy, so good luck there. Now if you don't want to take your chances with that fall, I'll relieve you of your form and accept the honor of being the one to finally bring down the renegade zircon…"

Grinning wildly, she brought the destabilizer up against Zircon's chin. But it never touched her. Instead, something huge and heavy collided with Zircon's stomach so hard that she couldn't help but let go of Aquamarine.

She flew through the air, held over one of Topaz's broad shoulders. Then Topaz reached the entire other side of the Harvester and landed safely on a protruding balcony.

As if handling a gemling, Topaz set Zircon down on the ground. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"I think," she murmured, then tried to stand up. "L...let me help again, I can try to — "

"No," replied Topaz.

Gently but still firmly, she put one hand on Zircon's shoulder and pushed her back down to sit. Her face was grim but still soft, her eyes glittering.

"I brought this mess here. Now I have to clean it up," she said, and with that she bounded into the air to meet Aquamarine.

But a second before Aquamarine hit her with the destabilizer, she twisted in the air and shot out her foot in a devastating side kick. Aquamarine, barely larger than the sole of Topaz's boot, caught the brunt of the kick and was knocked off her wings. In the blink of an eye, Topaz grabbed Aquamarine and both tumbled onto another balcony, rolling out of sight.

A few seconds after they disappeared, they appeared again, Aquamarine squeezed in one of Topaz's fists. The little beryl's shrieks, most of them terribly violent, echoed around the entire Harvester, but Topaz just walked calmly to the edge of the balcony and looked over the edge. Then, with force and power that made even Zircon cringe, Topaz lifted Aquamarine high above her head and slam-dunked her off the balcony.

At least she wasn't screaming anymore.

Wasting no time, surely worrying that Aquamarine would reform and come after them, Topaz leapt across the Harvester and landed back on Zircon's balcony with a stumble. She was breathing hard, her forehead drenched in sweat. "We gotta get out of here," she panted, taking Zircon's hand. "Climb on my back again."

Zircon did and Topaz geared up for another tremendous leap, looking to Homeworld's skies. And then they were off, the cool air whipping through her loose curls and smelling less like burnt plastic and terrorism as they flew, until they burst above ground and Topaz landed on the charred flagstones around the explosion's gaping hole.

Fortunately, Aquamarine hadn't brought friends, and Topaz and Zircon were alone. Unfortunately, they seemed to have lost their own friends in the process.

"Which way do we go?" asked Topaz, setting Zircon back on the ground.

Zircon whirled over one shoulder, then the other way, trying to catch the faintest hint of movement between the various mounds of rubble all around. Finally her scanning bore fruit — a flash of hot pink in the middle distance, climbing up a raised platform that looked like a warp pad. "Cranberry!" Zircon called, relieved.

The pink figure whirled around. A second later, two other figures — a tall green one and a short black one — appeared, the short one waving her arms. Zircon and Topaz just had to glance at each other before they broke into a run together, both sensing that they were going home at last.

When they skidded to a stop at the base of the warp pad, Cranberry threw herself at Zircon in a hug. "You got rid of her!" she said breathlessly, "Beryls are so dangerous, I didn't think you'd actually be able to hold your own, oh, Raspberry really has helped you!"

"Uh...thanks?" Zircon wasn't really sure if that was supposed to be a compliment. Awkwardly, she gently pried Cranberry off her and took her hand instead. "Well, we don't know how long she'll be down. Let's get out of here."

Topaz let out the loudest, longest, most relieved sigh ever.

"Y-you can say that again," said Cherry Ruby.

There was no hesitation on the part of anyone. Within seconds, they were flying through warp space, and the journey was so short that Zircon missed getting another word in on why Cranberry was still readily holding her hand.

In a flash of light, the now five rebels touched down on a warp pad in a dark, dusty cavern. Steel beams awaited nothing, some diagonal and intersecting, others shooting straight up into what seemed like nothing as well, but when 5XU lit the off-centered gem on her forehead, Zircon saw that the beams held up a blacked-out glass ceiling fifty feet in the air. The sparse forest continued for what seemed like forever.

"Is this the rendezvous?" asked Topaz. She was whispering. For some reason, this comforted Zircon, as if anything louder than a whisper would awake some sleeping beast.

"Not quite," replied Cranberry, also whispering. "This is an abandoned arsenal and hangar just outside Facet One, another of those places that the Diamonds couldn't afford to maintain. The rendezvous point is just outside on the first landing pad."

"And where's 'outside'?" said Zircon skeptically. Cranberry reached inside her sash and pulled out the small transmitter from before, its square white screen lacing her face in blue light. After examining it, Cranberry turned and pointed somewhere into the darkness.

"There's an exit on the other end of the hangar, about a half mile's walk. It's hard to see because of the dust in here, but the main bay door is wide open."

"A half mile," Zircon repeated. "How long is this hangar?"

Cranberry looked at her innocently. "A half mile long."

Without another word, she stepped off the warp pad, lighting her way with the transmitted. The other four followed. Subconsciously, mostly from fear, Zircon found herself walking quite close to Topaz, who in turn was walking quite close to Cranberry, who was holding Cherry's hand, even as Cherry used her other hand to hold 5XU's. Something about the darkness was so deep it seemed to press in around them, pushing them closer together as they walked into nothing. Something about the way the dust danced in the cold beam of the transmitter made it seem like there was something alive here.

Something like the footprints in the dust when Zircon looked down — footprints as big as Topaz's, except that Topaz was walking next to her, and not in front.

Zircon froze. "What?" Topaz asked at once, stopping beside her.

"Those footprints," said Zircon. "They're new."

"W-well, we are w-w-w-walking in front of you," said Cherry Ruby mildly.

"Not you," Zircon shook her head and knelt in the dust, lighting her gem and adjusting her monocle for a better look. "They're military boots. A quartz's. I know this boot tread, I defended a client once who stepped in mud and tracked it to...wait. There. Look, just to the left, there's a second pair of prints. Those are smaller, like a pearl's."

"Raspberry and Aqua Pearl," said 5XU. "They must have arrived before us."

At first, Zircon almost accepted the explanation. But something struck very wrong about it, and she knew it from the second the words left 5XU's mouth. Even as everyone else chorused an agreement and they all took it as a good sign, Zircon couldn't help but look at the tracks one more.

Because Raspberry Quartz didn't wear treaded military boots. They were too heavy for her fighting style, an art that relied on light jumping and agility of feet.

Zircon glanced up. Cranberry, 5XU, and Topaz began walking ahead again, but Cherry Ruby remained. She seemed to be looking at the bootprints, except that her blindfold was firmly on.

"Something's not right," said Zircon quietly.

Cherry nodded. Clearly, she agreed. "R-Raspberry wouldn't bring her, her here without m-m-m-m-messaging C-C-Cranberry."

"This wasn't Raspberry." Zircon bit her lip and looked at the pearl-shaped footprints. They were unnaturally long strides for a pearl; she was still walking, but she walked with purpose. Zircon knew few pearls with such a purpose as Aqua Pearl. "But Aqua Pearl was here…"

The horror dawned upon her and Cherry at once. The realization of what this meant.

"We're too late," whispered Cherry.

With no warning, Zircon sprang up, grabbed Cherry's hand, and sprinted off deep into the hangar. "What — Zircon!" Cranberry cried, but neither turned around. Cherry leapt off the ground, took to floating, and pulled ahead of Zircon to lead her.

 _We're too late, we're too late, we're too late._

Through the lingering clouds of dust, a reddish light began to glow somewhere beyond, and as Cherry and Zircon ran closer they realized that it was the open bay door of the hangar. To avoid whatever was out there, they made a sharp left and ducked behind the wall. On second thought, Zircon summoned her polestaff and pulled her hood up to cover her gem and head. For the first time she was glad that Aquamarine had ruined her headscarf — it wouldn't poke out and immediately give it away. Inhaling, Zircon found Cherry's hand again and squeezed it, as if Cherry would give her courage. Then she slowly leaned out the open door and looked.

It was sundown. The skies of Homeworld were a rich blood-red, and clouds of dust and sand swept through the dry air, across the all but empty field of the abandoned runway. Heaps of barrels and crates dotted the desolation, with the occasional abandoned airship guarding over them.

And there was a skinny figure moving not fifteen feet away from them, crouched behind some barrels — a blue-green figure with wild hair, two swords, and a widow's veil across her face. Aqua Pearl.

Instinct told Zircon to cry out to her, but Cherry must have sensed that and squeezed her hand hard. Pearl was hiding from something. Waiting. Watching. For someone…

But then that second someone appeared, floating as if on one of the clouds of dust. It was a cold dark silhouette, only a ghost until a gust of wind blew past and cleared away the clouds.

And Aqua Aura Quartz — the general of Blue Diamond's army, the turncoat, the traitor — stepped out of the dust.

"This is just not my day," Zircon whispered.


	29. Chapter 29

"Wh-what? What is it?" asked Cherry Ruby.

Zircon ducked back behind the wall and pulled Cherry Ruby close. "Aqua Pearl is out there," she whispered, "but there's someone else. It's — "

" _AQUA AURA QUARTZ!"_

Aqua Pearl's voice echoed like a whip crack. Zircon literally felt her face fall in disappointment.

"It is, as you heard, Aqua Aura Quartz," she finished haplessly.

She looked out the door again. In the periphery of her vision, she saw the figures of Cranberry Tourmaline, Topaz, and Peridot 5XU coming up through the shadows, but they clearly saw everything that Zircon did and were careful not to say a word as they crouched next to her. Dreading what she would see, Zircon turned her attention back to the imminent battleground.

Pearl stood atop a crate, her stance wide and both swords drawn. Aqua Aura Quartz turned. She looked much the same as Zircon remembered her — a sea-blue cape, a reflective gold visor hiding her eyes, high boots with steel-tipped toes. She regarded Pearl as if she had just found a unique insect.

"What a surprise," said Aqua Aura, stepping towards Pearl. "I missed you, Pearl."

Pearl, meanwhile, was trembling in rage. "SHUT UP!" she screamed. "I'm here to end this, Aqua!"

Aqua Aura just laughed. "That's cute," she smiled.

"Don't fracking patronize me!" Pearl snapped, pointing one sword at the quartz general, but Aqua's leisurely stride towards her didn't falter. "You don't DESERVE to say that you missed me! What about me? What about how I'd hide under your bed and PRAY to the Diamonds that you would never come back home because I knew what you'd do to me when you got there? You fracking think I MISSED THAT?!"

"Come now, Pearl. You can't have just called me here to yell at me."

"No." Pearl's back was to the rebels, but Zircon could only imagine the look on her face. "I called you here to shatter you."

"Oh no," Zircon murmured.

5XU turned frantically to Cranberry. "Does she know this is the rendezvous point? What do we do?"

"I don't think so!" Cranberry replied, her eyes wide. "And I — I don't know, why are you asking me?"

"Because you're the leader?" Zircon suggested.

"I — I don't know, I just — "

From outside, there was a noise like feet hitting the ground, and Zircon looked out to see that Pearl had leapt off the crate and was pacing with Aqua Aura, each about twenty feet apart. "Do you think this is funny?" Pearl snapped. "Why are you smiling? You think I can't kick your ass?"

Aqua Aura was, in fact, smirking as she lazily paced across from Pearl. "What place do you have in the galaxy if not by my side?" she asked finally. "After you shatter me, you'll be alone. Lost. Purposeless. I can't imagine what the past century has been like for you, burning in vengeance, destroying yourself. Day after day after day."

She stopped, causing Pearl to inadvertently stop as well.

"Pearl. Come home."

"NO!" Pearl shrieked. Without warning, she charged, flying across the field and lashing out with her blades. But Aqua Aura was fast — too fast. Before Pearl could reach her, Aqua Aura yanked off her cape, letting Pearl blunder right into the thick fabric and fall to the ground. Aqua Aura's gem, set in the now-exposed small of her back, glinted in the red light as she ducked to the side.

"We have to help her!" Topaz hissed.

"N-n-no!" Cherry Ruby shook her head viciously. "Dangerous — I see d-d-de-death! You will die!"

"I'm afraid Ruby's right," whispered Zircon. She could not tear her eyes from the fight.

Pearl had slashed her way out of Aqua Aura's discarded cloak, now circling again with her former owner. Aqua Aura was uncannily calm. It wasn't bluffed, either; Zircon knew how to tell fake confidence and this wasn't it. She didn't even have a weapon.

"I'm offering one last warning, Pearl," said Aqua Aura. "Lay down those silly swords, stop hurting yourself, and come home."

Even without future vision, Zircon could have predicted Aqua Pearl's response. Pearl shrieked and charged again, slashing wildly as Aqua Aura ducked and dodged the blades with ease. She didn't even show signs of reaching towards her own weapon; it was like she was trying to tire Pearl out, letting Pearl only slash and hack the air where she used to be.

Then Aqua Aura stopped, faced Pearl, and held out one hand, like an order to stop. Pearl's blade came whizzing down towards it, and Zircon involuntarily closed her eyes.

But there was no sound except Pearl's gasp.

Aqua Aura still stood, palm outstretched just as before. Pearl's sword had never even grazed her skin. Instead, Pearl was stumbling back, clearly bewildered. Screaming, she again threw herself and her swords at Aqua Aura, but a split second before she could deal a blow to her former owner, an invisible string jerked her arms back like a marionette.

The implication dawned upon Zircon with a sickening of her stomach — Pearl had tried to fight back before. At some point in the past, Aqua Aura had used Pearl's programming against her, ordering her body to never let her harm her owner. First the gag, and now this. It was sickening. And because of Ruby's hand gripping her wrist like a vice, Zircon could do nothing but watch in horror.

Then a flash of movement caught her eye.

About fifty feet away, almost hidden by the rolling clouds of dust, a bulky silhouette rose up on top of an abandoned transport jet. Aqua Aura and Pearl were too preoccupied with each other to notice, but when Zircon looked at the figure more intently she realized it was familiar. White wavy hair, a strong build, a pink ribbon tied to hold her hair back from her forehead gem. Raspberry Quartz. Clearly, she saw the encounter below her, and from her angle she could probably see Zircon and the others still lingering in the hangar door.

Cranberry gasped. "Wh-what is it?" asked Ruby, gripping Zircon tighter.

"An opportunity," said Cranberry. Suddenly, with a newfound purpose, she bent down and began to take off her high heels.

 _"AHH — !"_

The cry came from Pearl. When Zircon looked, she almost leapt up. Aqua Aura's hand snapped forward and grabbed her by the neck, squeezing to cut off Pearl's cry, lifting her off the ground. Pearl struggled to still slash with her swords, but her hands would never let her reach her target, and as Aqua Aura squeezed tighter, Pearl was forced to drop the two weapons.

"Cute," said Aqua Aura. "But we're going home."

Cranberry stood up. "Like hell they are," she muttered, and suddenly broke into a run.

As soon as she was clear from the hangar, she jumped — soaring through the air over Aqua Aura's head. Towards Raspberry. Raspberry saw her coming and ran to catch her, jumping down from the transport. As Cranberry fell, Raspberry caught her, and they spun in each other's arms until they began to glow with a white-hot light, brighter and brighter until they drowned in it. Zircon flinched back, shielding her eyes.

When the light faded, Strawberry Quartz stood to her full fifteen feet, all four fists clenched.

"Let her go, Aqua Aura," Strawberry snapped.

Without taking her eyes off Strawberry, Aqua Aura tightened her fingers around Pearl's neck. Pearl let out a choked cry and kicked her freedom, but it was no use — with little more effort than if she was popping a balloon, Aqua Aura squeezed Pearl until she burst. From a cloud of smoke, Pearl's blue gem clattered on the ground.

Strawberry Quartz shot after her, the bladed gauntlets flashing to life on her arms. But if Zircon had thought that Aqua Aura was fast before, she realized that she had no idea. In the blink of an eye, Aqua Aura dodged Strawberry's attack and reached to the gem in the small of her back, pulling out what looked at first like a long, thin whip. Then it whirled around and sliced through the air above Strawberry's head, shearing off a lock of her ponytail. Strawberry jumped back.

Aqua Aura snapped her whip in the air and it hissed as it flew, glimmering in the light. It wasn't even a whip — instead, it was an _urumi,_ a long, flexible steel blade. Something about the way she held it told Zircon and Strawberry that she hadn't missed her target. If she wanted to, she could have sliced Strawberry to bits.

Calmly, Aqua Aura bent down to pick up Pearl's gem. Raising her fists, Strawberry charged again, but with a graceful twirl and a flick of her hand, Aqua Aura lashed out with her urumi. Strawberry tried to block the strike with her gauntlet, but the metal whip snapped around her wrist and the end struck Strawberry across the face. A red gash opened up on her cheek. Then Aqua Aura, despite being half Strawberry's size, yanked hard on the blade and severed Strawberry's forearm from her body. It glitched out into chunks of light and Strawberry reeled back, clearly terrified.

"Ew, that's disgusting!" 5XU cried.

"Strawberry w-w-will be poofed very shortly," said Ruby solemnly.

As if on cue, Aqua Aura lashed out with the urumi once more and snapped the blade around Strawberry's waist. Strawberry only had enough time to say "oh frack" before Aqua Aura pulled.

As suddenly as Strawberry Quartz had come, she vanished in a puff of smoke. Another flick of the urumi and the still-glowing form of Raspberry Quartz was pulled from the air, slammed against a pile of crates, and reduced to her gem. Only Cranberry Tourmaline was left to crash to the ground, helpless. And now nobody was left to stop Aqua Aura from bubbling Aqua Pearl's gem, smirking in victory, and preparing to send Pearl off to stars knew where.

Internally, Zircon sighed. "After there are no more psychotic aqua gems for me to fight," she promised herself, "I plan to poof myself, so that I can take a much needed rest."

She clenched her fists and charged, slamming her entire body weight into Aqua Aura. It didn't do much in the way of knocking the quartz over, but did startle her enough to make her lose hold on Pearl's bubble. Like one fumbles with a bar of soap in the bath, Zircon scrambled to grab Pearl's bubble, and then once she had it, half-stumbled and half-crawled far enough away to form a quick force field around herself.

Clutching Pearl's bubble close to her chest, despite her sweaty hands, Zircon sat up and stared wildly at Aqua Aura. For the first time ever, Zircon looked into Aqua Aura's gold visor and saw something other than bemusement or indifference — this was raw, pure rage.

"You!" Aqua Aura hissed.

"H...hello again," Zircon stuttered.

For the first time, it was Aqua Aura now who reacted in anger, drawing another urumi and bringing it down with terrifying power onto the surface of Zircon's force fields. Zircon winced at the lash and the lethal glare on Aqua Aura's face.

"TRAITOR!" she screamed. "You ruined EVERYTHING!"

Seeing that her weapon had no effect on Zircon's field, Aqua Aura punched the field wall with enough force to push Zircon herself back, like an invisible fist hitting her gut. Over Aqua Aura's shoulder, Zircon saw Cranberry Tourmaline getting to her knees. She held Raspberry's gemstone close to her chest and seemed to be speaking to it, as if begging Raspberry to reform. Zircon didn't dare look behind — she knew where her friends were, hiding behind the hangar doors and watching in mute horror, probably arguing amongst themselves and with Cherry Ruby's doomed prophecy — Zircon couldn't give them away by looking.

And somewhere out there in the catacombs of Homeworld were the other rebels, Hematite, Tiger's Eye, Heliodor, Calcite, 5XI…Yellow Zircon. All searching for this damned rendezvous point. Not knowing what faced them when they did eventually show up. On one hand, Zircon knew them to be ferocious fighters. Well, at least Hematite was a fighter, and 5XI was nothing short of ferocious. They might help give the upper hand in this fight against a seemingly invincible quartz. But somehow, Zircon knew that, if they did come, Raspberry and Pearl might not be the only ones to fall. As long as Aqua Aura was able to reach her gem and pull out that metal whip, she was about as approachable as Zircon was inside her bubble shield.

Then Aqua Aura turned to Cranberry Tourmaline and reached back to her gem again.

"NO!" Zircon yelled, dropping her shields. It was a mistake — immediately Aqua Aura's blade was whirling towards her face and she had only the time to throw up her free hand and form a partial-shield above her head. The blow knocked her down, nearly causing her to lose hold on Aqua Pearl's bubble. When Zircon caught Cranberry's eye, across twenty feet of no-man's land where Aqua Aura stood, she saw that Cranberry was sobbing. A huge bleeding gash ran across the left side of her face.

Aqua Aura just sniffed. "Pitiful," she said, and reached to her gem once more. But instead of an urumi, it was something worse — a transmitter. Calmly she lifted it to her lips and activated it.

"This is the High General Aqua Aura Quartz, Facet 1A1C Cut 2JD, requesting forty emergency troops. The renegade starlite zircon has been found. I have secured her and her allies at latitude...11.3948 degrees west...longitude..."

She trailed off, her mouth falling open. Then she looked up to the sky — reddened and dusty as ever, polluted by eons of city life. The stars had been clouded over. Except for two, of course, two stars, two lights that were filtered and dim and _very large to be stars._ And it was then that Zircon recognized the faint rhythm in the air, a mechanical clanking beat from above that grew steadily louder and louder…

Until is was a beat backing a roar, the roar of a very old cargo ship hovering over their heads. It wasn't excessively large, perhaps enough to hold a few hundred gems, but by the noise and the rust it was certainly ancient. Huge murals were painted on the sides of it, which Zircon couldn't see clearly, but they obviously didn't comply with the Diamond Authority's regulations. A rebel ship. Not even a rebel ship, a scavenger. A space pirate. Not Lars — his ship had been much nicer.

Almost drowned out by the roar of this ship's prehistoric engines, there was a _pop_ and a _click_ and a landing ramp slowly lowered down from the underside of the ship, even though the ship was hovering far from the ground. Then, through the hazy lights, a tall stocky figure walked down the landing ramp and stood at the edge, arms folded.

When the invader spoke, her voice bellowed and echoed, magnified by a microphone and hidden speakers.

 _"ATTENTION,"_ she said. _"THIS IS LABRADORITE, RESIDENT FUSION RADICAL AND CO-CAPTAIN OF THE QUEEN CARVER. STEP AWAY FROM THE REBELS OR WE BLOW YOUR GEM CLEAR OUT OF ITS SETTING. I SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE SPACE PIRATE LARS."_

* * *

 **A/N: is that deus ex machina? probably. but ive been planning this reveal since chapter 12 and i might've gotten carried away with being more self-indulgent and less of a quality writer.**

 **FOR ANYONE WHO IS CONFUSED, which may be all of you: Labradorite is my gemsona, who i share MUCH more on SU Amino where this fanfic has the largest fanbase. yes ive gotten to the point where im putting my fuckin self insert in. im p sure my first author's note of this fic literally says everything is entirely self indulgent, y'all gotta get used to this shit. using Lab makes me happy so im going to use her. please dont leave.**

 **anywayyyy we're done with the trend of introducing/reintroducing side characters as cliffhangers (aquamarine, then aqua aura, now labradorite).**

 **NEXT CHAPTER: ZIRCON DAY! the 29th. get hypeeee. ending act II and starting act III. thats all i gotta say i think.**

 **pls comment.**


	30. Chapter 30

The _Queen Carver_ was a twelve thousand-year-old beast, a former Diamond Authority cargo vessel repurposed by the last surviving natives of Crystal System Khaoi C. The invasion of Khaoi C had been one of the longest on record, lasting nearly four thousand years under the direction of Yellow Diamond, and the _Queen Carver_ 's pockmarked hull attested to this — Khaoi C was the first conquered planet to have semi-intelligent natives. Every ship sent to the volcanic surface of Khaoi C was battered, vandalized, and assaulted by the natives until unusable or abandoned.

Naturally, with Yellow Diamond being the fearless conqueror that she was, this never ended well for the organic khaoi natives. Her army cracked down on the natives, enslaving them to build gem structures, killing when necessary.

The problem was khao biology itself. Despite their fragile, tribe-like social structures, which were scattered and lost forever in the Diamond invasion, the khaoi were built to last. Small, greyish, and feline in appearance, with retractable claws and huge triangular ears to catch even the smallest of noises, they were natural hunters and quickly stood out as the apex predator wherever there was lesser life to eat. They had long since adapted to the harsh volcanic conditions of their planet to the point that they could survive solely on alcohol for centuries at a time. They could reproduce faster than any other race of natives the Diamonds had seen. Above it all, they were obsessed with hoarding shiny things — unfortunate for the gem invaders, who conveniently had one shiny thing per body.

Eight thousand years after their planet was hollowed out by the Diamonds, there were about seventy living khaoi left, and they lived on the _Queen Carver_ with fifty gem pirates.

For now, it was seventy khaoi, fifty gem pirates, and twelve runaway rebels.

After Co-Captain Labradorite arrived, things kind of happened in a blur. She had a big gun (that's how they drove off Aqua Aura). Then when there was an opening, Labradorite ordered that the ship be lowered and the present rebels boarded — Topaz, 5XI, Ruby, Cranberry holding Raspberry's gem, and Zircon holding Aqua Pearl's gem. It was a pathetic little parade.

After the landing dock closed, Labradorite led the rebels through the mess and rabble of the _Queen Carver._ She was easily one of the tallest individuals there, standing at about fourteen feet tall and needing to duck under most of the doorways. Her tattered denim shirt, unkempt green-and-gold hair, and four makeup-caked violet eyes were abnormal to see when it was just Labradorite, but when she opened a bay door into the main body of the ship, Zircon realized that Labradorite didn't stand out at all. About a hundred khaoi and gems of all classes bustled around the area, lugging crates of supplies and heavy blasters. The gems stood out with their bright colors and variety of heights, but their tattered clothing and war paint let them fit right in with the ruby-sized khaoi with their brownish grey fur and wild assortments of body piercings. The cacophony of yells and cursing from the group was overwhelming enough to make Cherry Ruby cover her ears. Not to mention the smell — it was sweat, stale alcohol, and wet fur. Zircon couldn't help but grimace.

Without warning, Labradorite ran ahead of them and began to shout orders at the rabble. "Portside gunners, into position! Gem ships approaching from the east, I want you to hit 'em with everything you got — CITRINE! GET YOUR FACET OUT OF THAT CHAIR! INTO POSITION, WE'RE MOVING OUT!"

A good number of the gems and khaoi holding guns scrambled to the left side of the ship, where they opened small hatches in the wall and stuck long cannons through them. Primitive technology, but when the first khao loaded her cannon and fired it, it caused everyone nearby to fly back from the shaking. Labradorite gave the alien a thumbs up.

"Labradorite!" Zircon called, jogging up to the fusion's side. "There's — there's still six more rebels underground; do we have a plan?"

"I don't! Never do," said Labradorite briskly. "But I'm taking you to someone who does."

The "someone who does" happened to be the Queen Carver's other co-captain, a khao named Invidian Fallingstar. As Labradorite explained, Invidian had claimed the bridge as his personal throne room, if you could still call it a bridge.

When Labradorite escorted Zircon and the rebels inside, their senses were overwhelmed — suddenly, there were neon lights, loud dissonant music, and a very thick smell of alcohol. Three gems (too grimy for Zircon to tell what they were) sat at the pilots' consoles, lifting the ship into the red sunset sky. Zircon couldn't see much out the windows besides that they were going rather fast, and that there were small Diamond authority aircraft zooming towards them at alarming speeds.

"Ray shields up!" yelled a shrill, hoarse voice from the captain's seat. Seconds later, the whole ship shook as it took several rounds of laser fire all at once. Zircon stumbled against Labradorite, who very casually grabbed her by the cloak hood and guided her around to the front of the captain's seat.

"Invi, we got 'em," Labradorite said.

Invidian glanced down. He was the same size as all of the other khaoi aliens Zircon had seen so far, which was short, and he seemed remarkably skinny as he practically draped over the chair. His fur was bright red and his triangular ears dripped with gold piercings; the rest of his body glittered with prosthetic body parts — a robotic foot, a metal arm, and a shiny red device that seemed to take the place of his right eye. He wore brightly-colored, but very scanty clothing, showing off a variety of scars.

"Nice," Invidian smirked. "Fresh glitter."

Zircon's eyes widened. "I...beg your pardon?!"

Invidian cackled, slapping his metal knee. He was the only one who found any humor in that. "Whaaaat, she's just like Em-Zircon! Lab, I like this one, can I keep 'er?"

"No," Labradorite said.

Frowning, Zircon folded her arms. None of the other rebels were saying anything; even Cranberry, who still seemed to be in a state of shock as she clutched Raspberry Quartz and Aqua Pearl's gems close to her chest. She supposed then that someone had to do this.

"Well, pardon me again," Zircon spoke up, "but we were just wondering if we could drop down to pick up the rest of our friends. For whatever reason they didn't make it to the rendezvous point."

"Yeah, we just received a message from the one peridot who's with 'em. They got arrested about three clicks east. Honestly." Invidian just rolled his cat-pupiled eyes. Shocked, Zircon opened her mouth to snap back, but he saw it coming. "Relax! We've locked down their coordinates. We can pick 'em up in no time. For now, your job is to sit back and trust that we know what we're doing."

"We don't," said Labradorite curtly.

Invidian gave her a look. "Lab. C'mon."

Labradorite ignored him. "Zircon. You're worried about your crew, I get it. But if I'm honest, you look like schist. You gotta rest, and let us take care of it."

Rest. How long had it been since Zircon legitimately thought about rest? She bit the inside of her cheek for no reason at all than to give herself something to feel as she looked up at Labradorite, then at Invidian, then at the tired faces of Cranberry, Topaz, Ruby, and 5XU. The _Queen Carver_ continued to shake intermittently as missiles collided with the shields, but suddenly a sense of exhaustion washed over Zircon as she wondered if maybe they were safe enough to rest for a little while.

Shakily, she exhaled.

"Okay," she told the pirates.

.

Prosecutor Honey Zircon Facet 2K9M, Cut 1ZK was tired. But by no means was she alone.

In front of her, Judge Cubic Zirconia AAR6 sat cross-legged at her podium. Just as she had for five years. If she noticed that so much time had passed, then she didn't show it; Honey 1ZK suspected that Judge AAR6 had the short-term memory span of a defective ruby because of her wonderful habit of restating exactly what she had just said as if she was saying it for the first time, over and over and over. She was speaking again now, but Honey 1ZK wasn't actually sure what about.

Across the courtroom, Public Defender Purple Zircon 2K8Y, Cut 4FF lay flat on the floor, next to her three amethyst clients. They were murmuring among themselves, talking about the shapes that the clouds made in the sky. Blearily, Honey 1ZK blinked and looked up. There was no sky. Just a black courtroom ceiling. So either Purple 4FF was crazy and hallucinating clouds, or Honey 1ZK was crazy and hallucinating a courtroom. Not that it made any difference.

Sighing for the millionth time (literally), Honey 1ZK opened her screens and logged into Libra. No new messages. A few likes on her last post. Her hand drifted towards the " _New Post"_ button and, without meaning to, clicked it.

"Very bored," she typed, "as per fracking usual. Shatter me."

She tapped the "Post" button and watched it upload to the server. Within seconds a few zircons had liked it, but there were no comments. It had been so long that nobody really cared about Honey Zircon 1ZK and Purple Zircon 4FF anymore. They were just there. Nothing could be done to help them. So nobody commented, nobody stopped to offer advice, and nobody came to help. Honey 1ZK sighed resignedly.

Then the courtroom ceiling exploded.

Looking back on it, Honey 1ZK would wonder why she didn't have more of a knee-jerk reaction. Also looking back on it, she would reason that she was so dead inside by that point that Homeworld could have exploded and she wouldn't have cared, much less so the ceiling. Across the courtroom, Purple 4FF and her defendants all went, "Ooooooh." From the cloud of smoke and dust, a chunk of debris fell onto Cubic Zirconia's head, effectively shutting her up and forcing her to poof.

Then, as the dust cleared, a large green figure jumped down from the sky, landing in the center of the courtroom floor. Some kind of fusion. Honey 1ZK couldn't be damned to figure out exactly what she was, though. "Sorry for the bother," she said, "but can any of you tell me where they'd be holding a bunch of rebel prisoners?"

"Holding level, downstairs, one of the doors on the left," said Honey 1ZK flatly. The fusion nodded.

"Thank you."

Then she found the lift access point in the floor and descended down into it, vanishing. "Bye," Purple 4FF whispered softly.

A few minutes later the fusion appeared again from the lift, but this time with a following. A hematite, a peridot, a heliodor, another huge orangish fusion carrying a calcite, and a very familiar-looking hyacinth yellow zircon. While the other gems ran under the hole in the ceiling and began to jump out, the hyacinth yellow zircon stopped in her tracks and locked eyes with Honey.

"1ZK?!" the hyacinth yellow cried. She whipped around and found Purple 4FF, still lying on the ground. "You two are still here?"

"Where else…would we be," Purple groaned.

Honey frowned, still staring at Yellow. "You're…7AB?"

"7AN," Yellow corrected, but she didn't seem especially concerned with that. She turned back to the other rebels. "Labradorite! We're taking these two with us! They've been trapped in this trial for five years, we gotta get them out!"

"Can't...leave...my defendants," Purple put in.

"We love you, Purple," one of the amethysts giggled. "You're our hero."

Honey blinked, a little confused. She realized that she was getting tired on her feet, so she sat down on the floor and began humming her favorite tune. "I fracking hate this place," she said suddenly. "Sure hope that Cubic Zirconia reforms soon. Maybe then we can finish soon. Where's my client? Did she go home? She was allowed to go home. I wasn't. Frack this."

Yellow Zircon stared at her, her mouth half-open. Honey wasn't quite sure what she was looking at but didn't really want to question it. "That's it," Yellow said, "We're taking all of you. Maybe then Blue will get off my culet about not being sympathetic to other gems, or whatever her problem was."

"We can't leave," said Honey wearily. "We have to finish our case first."

"There is a giant cracking escape hole in the ceiling, dirtbrains," the peridot yelled.

Honey looked up at the hole, not comprehending what it meant. Then the big green fusion stooped down and put one large hand on her shoulder. "Just come with us, love. You can finish your case on the ship."

Gently, she picked Honey up in her arms, then reached down for Purple 4FF. The amethysts cried as their attorney was pulled away from them but Yellow 7AN just told them that they were coming with, not to worry. As the big fusion crouched and then leapt into the air, Honey looked up and realized she could see the sky.

It had never looked so beautiful.

.

The escape from Homeworld took nine hours and forty minutes.

First of all, the _Queen Carver_ wasn't exactly fast. It was old enough to still have hybrid propulsion- and warp-engines, and the warp part of it was partly broken, so it went slow. However, its age gave advantages — once they reached a certain altitude, Diamond scanners could not differentiate it from the billions of asteroids and defunct satellites that formed Homeworld's outer shell. That was how the _Queen Carver_ had been able to reach Homeworld virtually undetected, as Captain Invidian explained, and why Lars' _Sun Incinerator_ would not have been.

Soon enough Zircon found herself staring out into the vast expanse of space.

There were a handful of extra living spaces aboard the _Queen Carver,_ which had been divided up accordingly among the new rebels. Nobody except Blue Zircon was here now, but she had been told that this small six-bunk room was home to two other zircons already onboard, an emerald green and a sea blue. A third bunk would be Blue's and another could be Yellow's, once they rescued her.

Of course, by this point, Yellow had already been rescued, but Blue had not moved from the living cubby since the khao escort had left her here. Fatigued from two fights in a row, Blue had been perfectly content to find an untouched bunk by the floor, sit on it, and gaze out the small porthole window in the wall.

It didn't look like a window, even though Zircon saw the stars and asteroids moving by. A part of her brain was still locked to Homeworld soil — what she saw was no more than a video on a screen; a fantasy designed to trick her rest-starved brain. She even pinched herself once or twice. But again and again she came back to the reality that there was the whole galaxy outside, and here she was inside a pirate ship, and suddenly there was a hope of safety and true escape at last. Whatever that was.

But it was so much that Blue Zircon felt like she couldn't begin to grasp it. A part of her did not yet understand. It will eventually, she reassured herself, so for now she tried to be content with sitting in something of an impersonal daze.

The door opened and Yellow Zircon ducked inside.

"Now I know why my Diamond hates organics," she murmured, pulling a handkerchief out of her gem to wipe off her hands. "Disgusting."

Then she locked eyes with Blue Zircon, who had been so surprised that she froze up.

"Blue," she said awkwardly.

"Ye — "

Blue never finished. Yellow crashed into her, wrapping her arms so tight around her that Blue felt she could poof. A deep, shuddering breath pulled itself from Yellow's chest.

"I hate you," Yellow murmured, her voice muffled by Blue's jacket. "Don't leave me with those clods ever again."

"Ugh…good to see you, too." Grimacing from the pain of being crushed in a hug, Blue pried open Yellow's vicelike grip and sat back against her pillow, with Yellow still trailing after her. Yellow sank down next to her on the cot, her lithe body curling around Blue's and her head resting on Blue's chest.

"Yellow, there's three other cots for you," Blue pointed out, hoping Yellow wouldn't look up and see the flush darkening her cheeks.

"Mmm...no, I don't like any of them," Yellow said after a while. "I think this one will suit me just fine."

Blue couldn't help but roll her eyes. But she wouldn't tell Yellow to leave; Yellow was warm and her weight leaning gently against Blue was…comforting, to say the least.

"You wouldn't believe what I went through, Blue," Yellow yawned. "Oh — I heard you fought an aquamarine and Blue Diamond's general and all. Congrats. Anyway, back to me. It was horrible, Blue, I'm never letting you leave me with those absolute claybrains ever again. Hematite got us lost because she was too busy trying to look cool and then Heliodor forgot the transmitter and so Peridot 5XI gets the wonderful idea to set off flares, which draws all patrols immediately to our location and gets us all arrested. The only reason we weren't taken to the basement of the Imperial Prison was because I told them that the rebels had me hostage and I was there against my will, and since they didn't know if I was telling the truth, they took us to be questioned in the nearest hearing facility instead which is where we were found...fortunately, I can still access Libra, so I'm thinking that they fact-checked and saw that you still technically have me hostage. Anywho. It was awful, Blue. I was mocked and very rudely handled and one of the interrogators tried to feel me up under my jacket; it was so uncomfortable. I swear I'll never do it to you again unless you ask for it. But it was just terrible. I'm scarred for life."

Blue eyed Yellow carefully as she told her tales, melodramatic as they were. Even after four thousand years of verbal sparring with her, Blue could rarely tell when Yellow was exaggerating her own egocentrism — Yellow was definitely self-aware of her self-love, but Blue hadn't the slightest clue as to whether or not Yellow knew it enough to purposefully joke about it. So she just said "I'm very sorry" while suppressing a smile.

"Thank you! Finally someone pities me." Yellow sighed much too loudly. "And then to be taken onto a ship full of organics?!"

"Khaoi," Blue corrected her.

"Don't call them that, that's the name of a planet. More specifically, one of my Diamond's planets."

"It's both a planet and an alien race. They used to live there."

"Ugh. Then it's a surprise that my Diamond would ever want the planet. I don't know if you heard the ruckus, but once we escaped the upper atmosphere, every khaoi pirate down there decided it was the perfect time to whip out the alcohol and start partying. Two of them nearly started copulating before my very eyes, right in the middle of the crowd. Absolutely vile."

Blue raised a single eyebrow and smirked. "Really."

"What's the 'really' for?"

"It's really as in 'really?' When I first met the creatures, I had the impression that you would find some kindred spirits."

Yellow hit her gently. "Oh, shut up."

But she didn't leave Blue's side. They fell into a companionable silence, as was quite common between the two of them, even though it was still a little awkward. Zircons as a gem type didn't often stay silent in each other's company. They normally bubbled with arguments and disagreements that needed to spill, with peace the anomaly. But somehow, sometimes, the peace felt better. It allowed Yellow to shift in Blue's arms and examine her eyes; it allowed Blue to admire the soft skin of Yellow's hand entwined with her own; it allowed Yellow to reach up and stroke Blue's still-loose hair.

"Should I look too deep into you having your hair down, or should I assume that it just got ripped off in some fight?" asked Yellow after a while.

Blue frowned. "Well...yes, I lost it to the aquamarine, but I don't see how you could look too deep into it."

"For a moment I thought you just stopped wearing it," Yellow shrugged. "I suppose I don't understand how you tick anymore. I almost figured that one day, you're going to do something radical like never wear a headscarf again, or suddenly decide to permafuse with Cranberry and Raspberry. A part of me wondered if you'd eventually end up taking proud credit for the second gem civil war."

Both of them chuckled at that. "I don't imagine that I could," said Blue, "but a year ago I never could have imagined any of this."

"I know. Like, you singlehandedly leading a band of rebels to escape Homeworld? Please. I used to doubt if you could even string an intelligent sentence together," Yellow grinned. "No offense."

"Yellow, just because you say no offense doesn't mean it's not still offensive."

"Heh. I know."

The soft silence fell again. Blue closed her eyes as Yellow went still on her chest, but then opened them again when she felt the ship moving. She sat up to look out the porthole, wondering.

Yellow, from her angle at the window, saw it first. She gasped. "Homeworld."

Blue turned. As the ship turned, the black skies gave way to a bright mass, slowly dawning around the corner of the porthole. It was there. Homeworld. Glimmering with artificial lights, ringed with titanic metal supports from an era long gone, its glory veiled beneath a technosphere of millions of broken satellites. Only now could Zircon see the barren scores of disuse that marred the surface — entire facets built in the valleys of dead Kindergartens, pits and craters thousands of miles across where there was nothing but rundown buildings and empty streets.

It was grey and plastic-glittering and it was a Homeworld that was dying.

"It shouldn't be like this," she whispered. Then the ship gave a jolt and, distantly, a roar, and when she dared look again, Homeworld was gone. The only thing out the window was flashes of warplight.

She closed her eyes.

* * *

 **A/N: and that's act II!  
**

 **like in petri dish, i never decided i was doing acts until i finished two of them and thought huh. wouldn't it be cool to divide it up by acts. so thats whats going on with that. there IS a third act planned and it should have around 15 chapters, which hopefully will be coming up rather fast because, hah, welcome to summer break yo. altho that's never for certain because i just got a new job which i do not yet know how to feel about and also i am going off to college this fall at long last. so as per fuckin usual who knows whats gonna happen with updates**

 **BUT THIS FIC IS NOT OVER. NO SIRREE. DONT GO ANYWHERE. we still need to return to homeworld (indirectly, and you'll see what i mean by that) one more time. i have SO MUCH fun things to dive into and i cannot wait to do that**

 **so anyway.**

 **also happy zircon day! can't believe my daughter has been poofed for a whole fuckin year**


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